One more tests positive for COVID-19 in Bihar, total cases 61

A 45-year-old man tested positive for novel coronavirus in Bihar's Nawada district on Saturday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 61, a top health official said.

Health Department Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar said the persons whom the latest COVID-19 patient had come in contact with were being traced.

The latest COVID-19 case is the second one in the central Bihar district of Nawada.

A 38-year-old man who had travelled to Delhi from Nawada last month tested positive for the disease on Wednesday.

Officials are trying to find out whether he had attended the religious congregation in Nizamuddin area of the national capital last month where a number of people got infected with the contagious virus.

The principal secretary, however, sought to dispel fears triggered by a spike in coronavirus cases in the state this week and said Bihar has "one of the highest recovery and lowest mortality rates" of COVID-19 patients.

Of the 61 COVID-19 patients, 18 have recovered, he said, adding that Munger, Patna and Lakhisarai districts, which accounted for seven, five and one cases respectively are now left with no active case.

The sole death in the state due to coronavirus was from Munger district.

The median age of COVID-19 patients in the state was 27 years, he said.

A total of 6,111 samples of persons suspected to be infected with coronavirus have been tested at four laboratories in the state till Saturday morning, the principal secretary said, adding that 661 samples were examined on Friday.

The total number of cases as well as the number of active cases in the state nearly doubled during the week.

One reason for the sharp rise was that more than 20 members of a family in Panjwar village in Siwan district tested positive for coronavirus. They had contracted the disease from an Oman returnee.

The village has been sealed with bamboo barricades erected on the streets to prevent the movement of people and drones deployed to supervise it. Disinfectants are being sprayed and the NDRF has been pressed into service.