Jharkhand on Wednesday reported a Covid-19 positivity rate of less than 1 per cent for the first time since March as only 532 of the 59,510 people tested were found infected by Coronavirus on the day, figures compiled by the National Health Mission (NHM) highlighted.

The positivity rate in the state on Wednesday was 0.89 per cent. As per records with the state health department, the average daily Covid-19 positivity rate in Jharkhand was close to 10 per cent in April, but it dropped to around 2 per cent in the last week of the month.

The state also reported 1272 Covid recoveries on Wednesday, which brought the active caseload in Jharkhand down to 7307, a bulletin released by the NHM stated. As per the bulletin, the growth rate of infection also dropped to 0.18 per cent in Jharkhand on the day against the national average of 0.39 per cent, while the recovery rate jumped to 96.36 per cent in the state against the national average of 92.50 per cent.

While the active caseload and the growth rate dipped in the state, the Covid mortality rate continued to be higher than the national average. As per NHM data, the Covid mortality rate in the state was 1.47 per cent against the national average of 1.20 per cent.

The state on Wednesday reported as many as 11 Covid casualties and at least seven of the victims died in Ranchi, the district which accounts for highest number of Covid casualties and cases in Jharkhand. So far, as many as 5011 people have died of Covid-19 in Jharkhand and at least 1564 of them breathed their last in Ranchi. Health officials said that several critical patients from across the state were referred to Ranchi for better health facilities and their deaths also contributed to the Covid toll here.

While Ranchi reported 60 cases of Covid-19 against 198 recoveries, East Singhbhum reported 52 cases against 189 recoveries. As per NHM data, the active caseload in Ranchi stood at 2,126 and that in East Singhbhum was only 30. East Singhbhum also reported two Covid casualties on the day which took the toll there to 1012.

Among other districts, Bokaro reported 27 cases against 75 recoveries while Hazaribag reported 46 cases against 107 recoveries. At least 49 people were found infected in Simdega while 46 Covid patients recovered there. As per government data, Ranchi was the only Jharkhand district with more than 1000 active cases of Covid-19.

The state on Wednesday administered the first dose of vaccine against Covid-19 to 28,711 residents, while the second dose was administered to 5,842 beneficiaries, stated a separate report from NHM.