State health department will conduct Covid-19 tests of people with comorbid conditions and ones suffering from non-communicable diseases on a priority basis in a bid to avert sudden casualties and put a check on the rapidly rising Covid-19 toll in the state, officials from National Health Mission (NHM) said on Wednesday.
“People suffering from comorbid conditions and non-communicable diseases will be prioritized for Covid testing,” said State NHM director Ravi Shankar Shukla, adding that the Government will also run special campaigns to test people suffering from comorbid conditions such as diabetes, cardiac ailments, kidney diseases, cancer and pulmonary disorders.
As per figures compiled by the NHM, at least 955 people have died of Covid-19 infection in Jharkhand so far, and a majority of them suffered from some or the other comorbid condition.
More than 76 per cent of the Covid victims in Jharkhand were older than 50 years, highlights government data.
At least 727 of the 955 victims were above the age of 50 years, while 224 were in the age bracket of 11 to 50 years. The Covid fatality rate in Jharkhand was, however, lower than the national average. Jharkhand’s Covid fatality rate was 0.88 per cent against the national Covid-19 fatality rate of 1.50 per cent.
Meanwhile, after a significant drop in the Covid-19 testing rate during the festive season, the government has again intensified testing this week.
A senior official from the health department said that the drop in the testing rate during the festive season was due to fewer cases surfacing in the state.
“Most of the tests are done on the basis of contact tracing. So, once the number of fresh cases surfacing on a daily basis reduces, the number of fresh samples
collected also drops,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
He added that very few people in Jharkhand volunteered to get tested for Covid-19 unless they suffered from symptoms or were forced to undergo tests by family and friends.
Many people, who came in contact with infected people, also avoided getting tested due to the fear of being isolated, the official said.
The growth rate of Covid-19 in Jharkhand was lower than the national average. The growth rate in the state was 0.16 per cent against the national growth rate of 0.42 per cent in the past one week, highlights Government data. By Wednesday morning, the Covid-19 tally in the state was 1,07,921 and at least 2,242 people were yet to recover.