Bihar reports 14th COVID-19 death, cases rise to 2,870

A 40-year-old man, who died two days ago at a hospital in Bihar's Nalanda district, was found to be COVID-19 positive, taking the death toll due to coronavirus to 14 in the state, officials said on Tuesday. The total number of COVID-19 cases rose to 2,870 in the state with 133 fresh detections during the day, they added.

The man, who returned from Noida in Uttar Pradesh recently, died at the Vardhman Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) on May 24. He was admitted to the hospital after his condition deteriorated while staying at the quarantine centre at the government polytechnic college in Asthawan, Nalanda Civil Surgeon Dr Ram Singh said.

His sample was sent for testing and it came back as COVID-19 positive on Monday night, he added. The man reached Bihar Sharif on a train on May 20, officials said On May 24, he developed symptoms such as cough, cold and fever and was admitted to the hospital. His health condition gradually deteriorated and he died hours later.

His sample was sent to Patna after he was found to be COVID-19 positive in the TrueNat test at VIMS, Singh said, adding that the report from Patna also came in as positive. His family members were informed that he was COVID-19 positive, following which they refused to take the body, officials said.

The driver of an ambulance also refused to transport the body, prompting the administration to lodge a police case against him, they added. So far, 14 coronavirus-infected persons have died in Bihar. While two deaths each were recorded in Patna, Vaishali and Khagaria, one each was reported from Rohtas, Munger, East Champaran, Sitamarhi, Begusarai, Saran, Siwan and Nalanda.

There are 2,056 active cases in the state at present, while 800 patients have recovered. With 211 cases, Patna tops the list of positive cases, followed by Rohtas at 166. The other badly affected districts are Begusarai (156), Munger (148), Madhubani (145), Khagaria (143), Katihar (134) and Buxar (114).

The number of samples tested so far in the state is 66,148.