19 test positive for COVID-19 in Bihar, total cases 422

Nineteen people tested positive for COVID-19 in Bihar on Thursday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 422, a top official said.

On the brighter side, an equal number of patients were discharged from hospitals after full recovery in the last 24 hours, raising the tally of those who have overcome the dreaded contagion in the state to 84, Health Minister Mangal Pandey said in a tweet.

According to Principal Secretary, Health, Sanjay Kumar, Rohtas district reported the maximum number of 11 cases on Thursday, the youngest being a boy aged two years.

With the fresh spurt, Rohtas now has 45 cases, surpassed only by Munger (92) district and followed closely by Patna (44), where two residents of different localities in the city were found infected with the deadly virus on Thursday.

Four persons tested positive for the disease in Sitamarhi, raising the north Bihar district's total number of cases to six, Kumar said.

Two residents of Saran, a 62-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman, both hailing from different parts of the district, have also tested positive for COVID-19, he said, adding that Saran now accounts for four coronavirus cases.

Bihar has reported two fatalities due to the disease so far, one each from Munger and Vaishali, and is now left with 336 active cases.

The number of samples tested in the state till date is 22,672. Testing of samples is taking place at six laboratories -- four in Patna and one each in Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga.

The principal secretary also informed that the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College at Bhagalpur is all set to have the seventh facility for COVID-19 testing in the state and it is likely to become operational by May 3.