India News | COVID-19 Cases in Bihar Cross 7 Lakh; Tally Inches Towards 5k Mark

Patna, May 27 (PTI) The COVID-19 death toll in Bihar inched towards the 5,000-mark and the tally crossed seven lakhs on Thursday, the health department said.

According to the department, the death toll reached 4,943 on account of 98 fresh fatalities while 2,568 new cases took the overall tally to 7,00,897.

More than four lakh people have been infected in the state while over 3,000 have lost their lives in the last couple of months during which the devastating second wave has swept across Bihar.

Nonetheless, there has been a sharp decline in the number of fresh cases reported on daily basis compared with the figures of a few weeks back when these were in five digits.

This has caused the recovery rate to reach 95.24 per cent, a rise of nearly 20 per cent since a few weeks ago when the outbreak was at its peak.

Active caseload, which was more than one lakh till the beginning of the month, has also plummeted to 28,447. Besides, 6.67 lakh people have recovered from the infection.

The state expects further improvement in the situation as a result of the vaccination drive which is taking place at a steady pace.

Altogether 1.02 crore people have received the jabs so far, of whom 15.73 lakh fall in the age group of 18-44 years.

State minister for Information and Public Relations Department Sanjay Kumar Jha said in a statement "it is a matter of pride that under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Bihar has succeeded in inoculating the highest number of people, aged between 18 and 44 years. Wastage of vaccines reported from the state is also among the lowest in the country".

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)