The COVID-19 tally in Bihar breached the four-digit-mark on Friday after at least six people tested positive for the novel coronavirus, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 1,005, a top official said.
According to Principal Secretary, Health, Sanjay Kumar, five of the cases were reported from Khagaria district, while one person tested positive in Siwan. All of them are adult males.
The state had reported its first couple of cases on March 22 and the tally crossed the 100-mark on April 19.
The steep rise in incidence since then has been attributed, to some extent, to influx of migrants who have been returning to their native places in droves, by the 'Shramik Special' trains or hired vehicles.
Bihar Health Department has put the number of "migrants testing positive" between May 4 and May 15 (till 10 AM) at 358.
A total of 2.46 lakh people have come to the state by the rail route, ever since the first Bihar-bound 'Shramik Special' reached Danapur on May 2, officials said.
Government officials coming in close contact with infected people have also been found to be vulnerable to the infection. The department on Friday confirmed that a young IAS officer of 2017 batch, posted in Nalanda district, was among those who had tested positive on Tuesday.
In addition, more than 30 police personnel have tested positive across the state, 21 of them from Bihar Military Polices 14th battalion at Khajpura locality in Patna, where an infection chain was triggered with over 20 residents of a by-lane Bijli Gali having tested positive last month.
Nonetheless, Bihar boasts of a good recovery rate and a low mortality rate.
Till Friday morning, the number of those who have recovered stood at 412. Only seven persons have died most of them with co-morbidities the figure being a tiny fraction of the nationwide fatalities, though the state comprises 10 per cent of the country's population.
The number of samples tested so far is 43,371, the department said. With the recent spurt, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been making efforts to drastically raise the daily average of testing currently at around 1,800 samples to 10,000 or more.
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