7 more test COVID-19 positive, total cases rise to 24 in Jharkhand

Seven more people tested positive for COVID-19 in three districts of Jharkhand within 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the state to 24, officials said on Monday.

According to them, the seven new cases were reported from Ranchi, Bokaro and Giridih districts.

Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Director Dr D K Singh said three people from Ranchi city's Hindpiri locality tested positive for the virus on Monday. One person each from Giridih and Bokaro also tested positive on Monday, he said.

Earlier, Bokaro Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Kumar said two men, one aged 68 years and the other 45 years, tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday night.

They hailed from Bokaro district's Sadam village and are relatives of the 72-year-old man who died of COVID-19 on April 8, he said.

With this, the total number of positive cases in Ranchi Bokaro have gone up to 11 while Bokaro's tally climbed to nine. Hazaribag has reported two cases of the infection, while Koderma and Giridih reported one case each.

The third person from Bokaro who tested positive for novel coronavirus on Monday also has contact history at Sadam village, officials said.

A 60-year-old man had died of COVID-19 in Ranchi on Sunday, the second such case in the state.

The first case of COVID-19 in Jharkhand was detected at Hindpiri locality of Ranchi when a 22-year-old Malaysian woman tested positive for the disease on March 31.