Three fresh cases of Covid-19 – two in Ranchi and one in Simdega– surfaced on Tuesday in State, health officials said. The two suspects from Ranchi, who tested positive in the latest lab test, are related to coronavirus patients from Hindpiri – a locality that has emerged as a hotspot of the lethal virus in the State capital, they added.
The Simdega patient attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi, and his samples were collected earlier this month. "This is the first case in Simdega. The number of cases in Ranchi has now increased to 13 – all of them are from Hindpiri," said Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni. "The two Hindpiri residents who tested positive are youngsters. They must be around 30-year-old," he added.
By the time this report was filed, Jharkhand had 27 cases of COVID-19. Out of the 27 cases, 13 are from Ranchi, two from Hazaribag, nine from Bokaro, and one each from Simdega, Koderma and Giridih. The entry of the virus in Simdega –a largely backward district with limited resources– is a cause for concern since the district is poverty-stricken and has a huge population of illiterate people, officials said.
Ranchi, which has the highest number of Covid-19 cases among all the districts in Jharkhand, has all its cases saturated in Hindpiri locality. The locality was sealed last month after more than half a dozen cases from the area came to light.
Jharkhand's first coronavirus patient was also apprehended from a Mosque in the area. She had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi – a fact that highlights the impact of the religious gathering on Ranchi. Although only three of the 27 patients here attended the religious gathering, they infected many non-attendees in the State. "The Malaysian woman who attended the Tablighi Jamaat event was the first carrier of the virus to Hindpiri," said a health official in the thick of events here.
The number of coronavirus cases in Jharkhand has witnessed an unprecedented rise in the month of April. The first case here was reported on March 31, and the cases were in single digit by April 5. However, the numbers skyrocketed and neared 30 by Tuesday.
The virus has claimed two lives in the State so far – one each from Ranchi and Bokaro. Meanwhile, the Ranchi district administration is looking for a place where the bodies of Covid-19 victims can be buried. Locals have refused to allow burial of Covid-19 victims in residential areas.