Over 1K new COVID-19 cases in Bihar for first time; death toll 125

Bihar registered the highest single-day spike of 1,266 novel coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 16,305 on Sunday, while seven more deaths took the toll to 125, the Health Department said.

There are 4,227 active cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and 11,953 people have recovered from the infection so far, the department said.

Out of the 1,266 new cases, the maximum number of 177 infections were from Patna district, followed by Siwan (98), Bhagalpur (81), Nalanda (78), Nawada and Begusarai (76), Munger (61) and West Champaran (54).

Two out of the seven new casualties were from Darbhanga, while there was a fatality each in Patna, Begusarai, Muzaffarpur, Nalanda and Siwan districts.

The spurt came at a time when the state has nearly a third of its 38 districts under lockdown to contain the pathogen. Patna, Bhagalpur, Nalanda, Nawada, Begusarai and West Champaran districts have been under restrictions for more than 24 hours.

The Health Department attributed the spike to the enhanced testing capability. The number of tests conducted in the last 24 hours is 9,251, compared to less than 7,000 till a few days ago.

The department underscored that the recovery rate was 73.31 per cent, which was significantly higher than the national average of 62.93 per cent.

Patna district has reported the highest number of 15 deaths so far, followed by 10 each Bhagalpur and Darbhanga, and seven in Samastipur.

Six people each have succumbed to the disease in Muzaffarpur, Nalanda, East Champaran, Rohtas and Siwan districts, followed by five each in Begusarai and Saran.

Patna also tops the list with the highest number of confirmed cases (1,868), followed by Bhagalpur (996), Muzaffarpur (711), Siwan (661), Madhubani (591), Munger (578), Nawada (560) and Nalanda (520). 

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