228 test positive for COVID-19 in Bihar, tally rises to 2,394

As many as 228 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Bihar on Saturday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 2,394, the health department said here.

Sasaram, the headquarters of Rohtas district, reported the maximum number of fresh cases at 33, including five females -- two of them aged five and eight.

The number of cases in Vaishali almost doubled to 48 as the district reported 25 fresh cases -- all of them males in the age group of 20-45. Most cases have been reported from Raghopur block.

Significant numbers of cases were also reported from Madhepura, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Khagaria, Katihar, Begusarai, Aurangabad, Banka and Begusarai districts.

With a few cases recorded in Patna's rural areas, the number of COVID-19 cases in the district remained the highest in the state at 195.

Patna also has the highest number of active cases at 141. While 52 people in the district have recovered, two have died.

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Other districts which have reported a high number of cases are Rohtas (154), Munger (140), Madhubani (133), Begusarai (130), Khagaria (116), Buxar (114) and Jehanabad (106).

The contagion has spread to all 38 districts of the state. With six cases, Sheohar is the only district with a single digit tally.

Bihar has recorded 11 COVID-19 deaths. While Patna, Vaishali and Khagaria have reported two deaths each, East Champaran, Munger, Sitamarhi, Rohtas and Begusarai have reported one each.

Altogether, 653 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the respiratory disease.

Bihar has witnessed a surge in the number of coronavirus cases since May 03, when it breached the 500-mark and migrant workers began to pour in on special trains and via other modes of transport.

Of the nearly 1,900 COVID-19 cases reported since May 03, a staggering 1,409 are linked to migrants who returned to the state from other parts of the country like Delhi (363), Maharashtra (326), Gujarat (236), Haryana (115), West Bengal (67), Uttar Pradesh (66), Telangana (62) and Rajasthan (61).

Over a million migrants, including 8.25 lakh on 580 special trains, are said to have returned to Bihar from other states since the beginning of the month, according to government data.

They are lodged at quarantine centres set up at district, block and panchayat levels for two weeks. Samples of those who show symptoms of COVID-19 during thermal screening are sent for testing. They are moved to isolation wards if their reports come back positive.

According to Secretary for Information and Public Relations Department Anupam Kumar, 9.68 lakh people are currently lodged at nearly 20,000 quarantine centres across the state.

A total of 61,220 samples have been tested till date and roughly 3,000 tests are being conducted daily for the past few days. Efforts are on to raise the testing capacity to 10,000 per day.