Bihar reports 8th COVID-19 death; total cases rise to 1,251
Patna, May 17 () Bihar on Sunday reported its eighth COVID-19 fatality while 73 people tested positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of cases in the state to 1,251, officials said.
A 55-year-old diabetic migrant worker, who fell ill upon return to Bihar from Mumbai and died before his sample was collected, tested positive for coronavirus, and is the state's eighth COVID-19 fatality, they said.
The deceased had breathed his last in the wee hours of May 15, upon suffering "cardio pulmonary arrest", at a hospital in Khagaria district where he was admitted upon developing breathing trouble, Principal Secretary, Health, Sanjay Kumar said.
"Soon after his death, his sample - along with that of his wife - was collected and both tested positive on Saturday. He goes into records as the eighth COVID-19 death in Bihar," the principal secretary said.
This is the second instance in Bihar of test report confirming that a person was COVID-19 positive after his death.
Two months ago, a resident of Munger district admitted to AIIMS, Patna for renal failure had his samples collected while he was alive but he died on March 21, before test reports came out and his body was taken back to his native district.
The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,251 with 73 reported on Sunday, of which Patna alone accounts for 57 cases, including 18 women. Patna now topped the list of COVID-19 cases at 163, pushing Munger to the second spot with 125 cases.
Majority of the new COVID-19 cases are migrant labourers who have come from Delhi and Gujarat and are living in quarantine centres, a release issued by Patna district administration said.
A total of 14 peopl, including a six-year-old baby girl, tested positive for COVID-19 in Rohtas district.
Besides, one each patient from Nalanda and Saran tested positive.
Of the 1,251 COVID-19 cases, eight people have died while 475 have recovered and 768 are active cases.
The number of migrant testing positive for COVID-19 stood at 504 out of 1,251 cases, with most of them returning from Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The other badly affected districts include Rohtas (89), Nalanda (66), Buxar (59), Madhubani and Begusarai (53 each), Siwan (45), Khagaria (44). Bhagalpur (40), Nawada (36), Kaimur (34).
Only four districts -- Gaya, Sitamarhi, Araria and Sheohar -- have their tallies in single digit.
The number of samples tested so far, at seven facilities in Patna, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga was 45,790. AR RG RHL KJKJ