Bihar reports 1,555 fresh COVID-19 cases; record 1.76 lakh samples tested in a day

The coronavirus caseload in Bihar went up to 1,68,541 after 1,555 new infections were detected, while the state tested a record 1.76 lakh samples for COVID-19 in a single day, the health department said in a bulletin on Sunday.

Three fresh fatalities were reported -- one each from Patna, Begusarai and Samastipur districts -- in the past 24 hours that took the death toll due to the disease to 864, the statement issued this evening said.

The bulletin said that 1,487 patients recovered from COVID-19, and the number of people who have recuperated so far is 1,54,443. The recovery rate in Bihar is 91.63 per cent now.

The state presently has 13,234 active cases.

A record 1,76,511 samples were tested for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the cumulative number of tests so far to over 57 lakh in the state.

The 1,555 new cases included 209 from Patna district, 101 from Muzaffarpur, 93 from Supaul and 73 each from East Champaran and Purnea, the bulletin said.

Meanwhile, the Muzaffarpur district administration and the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) urged people to get themselves treated at a COVID-19 hospital set up recently by the defence agency.

The 500-bed makeshift hospital built by the DRDO in Muzaffarpur town started functioning from September 7, but only 70 patients have been admitted there so far, a statement by the district administration said.

Of them, 29 patients have already been discharged after recovering from the disease, it said. “The number of COVID patients is very low at the makeshift hospital, probably because of a lack of awareness. They are going to private hospitals and medical colleges in large numbers for treatment,” Lt Col Vikas, a DRDO official associated with the hospital, said.

World-class facilities are being provided at the hospital, he said.

Besides the DRDO official, Muzaffarpur District Magistrate Chandra Shekhar Singh appealed to the people of Muzaffarpur and its adjoining districts to avail the facilities at the hospital. Health department sources said that with a caseload of 7,506 infections, Muzaffarpur district is at the second spot in terms of COVID-19 positive cases after Patna where the tally is 25,569.

Muzaffarpur district also reported 31 deaths due to the disease so far.

READ | Bihar Reports More Recoveries Than New COVID-19 Cases

READ | COVID-19 Recovery Rate In Bihar Rises To 91.17pc, Caseload Increases To 1.64 Lakh