Jharkhand on Saturday reported 340 fresh cases of Covid-19 infection and four casualties, taking the count of active cases to 1636 and the Covid toll to 1107, stated a bulletin released by the National Health Mission (NHM). Sahebganj reported two Covid casualties on the day, while Ranchi and Gumla reported one fatality each.

The active Covid caseload reached 853 in Ranchi on the day as the district reported only 39 recoveries against the 187 fresh cases, highlighted the NHM bulletin. As many as 99 Covid patients recovered from the viral infection on the day.

As per government data, the growth rate of Covid-19 infection in Jharkhand reached 0.16 per cent against the national average of 0.32 per cent on the day, while the doubling rate dropped to 435.04 days. The doubling rate in the state was above 2500 in the month of February.

The State government achieved around 80 per cent of its target of vaccinating 10 lakh residents during a week-long Panchayat level vaccination drive, which concluded on Saturday, health officials said.

As per a report released by the NHM on Saturday night, as many as 1,03,848 people, including over 78,000 senior citizens, got the first jab of the Covishield vaccine on the day. As per data compiled by the NHM, Jharkhand had vaccinated over 6 lakh residents before the launch of the Panchayat level drive, and by Saturday, the state managed to vaccinate as many as 13,87,462 people, primarily rural residents.

Of the close to 14 lakh people administered the first dose of the vaccine in the state, around 7.86 lakh were senior citizens and over 1.8 lakh were middle-agers with comorbid conditions. As per government data, the state has so far achieved 84 per cent of its target for administering the first dose of the vaccine.

As per the NHM report, over 1.31 lakh people in Ranchi have got the first dose of the vaccine – the highest among the 24 districts in Jharkhand. Over 1 lakh residents in East Singhbhum have got the first jab, while more than 72,000 people have got the first dose of the vaccine in Bokaro.

However, the state on Saturday managed to administer the second dose of the vaccine to only 3 per cent of the over 1 lakh registered beneficiaries. So far, the state has administered the second dose of the vaccine to as many as 2,33,686 beneficiaries, around 71 per cent of those registered.

So far, more than 1.22 lakh people have been infected by the mysterious virus in Jharkhand and 97.76 per cent of them have recovered. The recovery rate in the state has also dropped from over 98.60 per cent in February, reveals government data.