Patna: COVID-19 infections have reached villages in Bihar, the health department confirmed on Sunday, as the state’s positivity rate has jumped from 0.37 per cent to 2.15 per cent in the past week.
The overall situation in Patna, however, remains alarming with the positivity rate jumping to 18.71 per cent which, experts say, amply indicates the virus has spread to the community.
Health officials said till December 18 last year, the coronavirus infection was limited to just four blocks of the state’s total 534 but now the viral infections have spread to more than 300 blocks, indicating the seriousness of the situation.
“COVID-19 infection is spreading very fast in Bihar and has now spread to over 300 blocks in the past over a fortnight only. The people need to stay alert,” Bihar’s health secretary Pratyay Amrit told the media.
He informed the government had made adequate arrangements for the medicines, oxygen and medical staff in the hospitals to deal with the situation. The health secretary added that all the district hospitals and medical colleges have been told to be ready for the treatment of the infected persons.
Health authorities are especially worried over the way infection rate had gone up to more than five times in the past one week itself. They said the total infection rate which was recorded at 0.37 per cent on January 1 has now gone up to 2.15 per cent.
The high transmissibility rate of the virus amply explains how a vast part of Bihar is fast coming in the grip of COVID-19 infections. According to the data released by the health department, the infection which was limited to only four blocks on December 18 spread to 79 blocks on January 1 before finally covering nearly 60 per cent of the total geographical areas till Saturday.
Authorities, though, said despite the high transmissibility rate in the third wave, hospital bed occupancy rate was only 0.9 per cent till Saturday as most of the infected villagers are recovering in home isolation. “Only 236 out of the total 12,311 patients had to be admitted to hospitals so far,” a health official said.
According to a report, at least five districts out of the state’s total 38 have now emerged as the hotspots of the virus. They include Patna, Gaya, Begusarai, Muzaffarpur and Nalanda. Of them, the situation in Patna remains very alarming with the state capital alone accounting for 43 per cent of the new cases. “There is a need to exercise utmost caution at this stage,” the health secretary said.
“Community spread occurs when the rate of infection starts increasing rapidly. In such a situation, it is difficult to find its source. The same thing is now happening in Patna,” said health expert Dr Satyendra Singh, former head of the microbiology department with the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). He added that in many cases of contact tracing, the source is not being found.
Keeping in view the seriousness of the situation, the state government launched from Sunday an intensive campaign to strictly enforce the COVID-19 restrictions as announced earlier. As part of the campaigns, various teams are checking whether the COVID-19 guidelines were being followed in hospitals, business establishments and by the general public.
