At least 60 fresh cases of Coronavirus infection have surfaced in the State in the past 48 hours, raising concerns over a gradual rise in cases of Covid-19 amid the fear of the new Omicron variant, which has already made its way to some Indian states that are well-connected to Jharkhand by airways and railways.
Jharkhand reported at least 35 fresh Covid cases on Saturday and 25 Covid cases on Sunday. In these two days, the state reported 60 fresh cases of coronavirus infection against hardly 25 Covid recoveries, and the active caseload in the state jumped to 127 from 95 on December 2, figures compiled by the National Health Mission (NHM) reveal.
Meanwhile, a Covid-19 patient, suspected to have been infected by the Omicron variant of the virus, has been admitted in a private hospital in Ranchi, and his samples have been sent for whole genome sequencing to the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) in Bhubaneswar, an official from Ranchi Civil Surgeon’s office said. In the wake of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus, said to have a higher transmissibility and the ability to bypass immunity provided by vaccines, Jharkhand has prepared a list of close to 150 international travellers who have come to the state in the past 14 days. These travellers are being screened and tested by the concerned districts, but many districts are yet to share the test reports with the health department in Ranchi, officials said.
According to latest government data, the Omicron variant of Coronavirus has already spread to Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi. Several thousand passengers from these three cities visit Jharkhand every day.
Ranchi continues to be the worst-affected district in terms of the active caseload in Jharkhand. At least 50 Ranchi residents were battling Covid-19 on Monday morning, while 41 people were undergoing treatment for the viral infection in East Singhbhum, NHM data highlighted. These two districts account for more than 70 per cent of active Covid cases in the state. The state has also failed to achieve its daily vaccination target in the first five days of December. The health department had set a target of vaccinating at least 4 lakh individuals daily in the month of December, and Jharkhand has vaccinated about 1 lakh residents daily on an average this month.