87 docs at Patna Medical College Test positive for Covid

According to the state health department, 87 doctors in Patna tested positive for COVID, while Bihar reported 352 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, 71 more than the previous day.

Bihar had 281 and 158 new cases filed on Saturday and Friday, respectively. However, no disease-related deaths have been reported in the last four days, keeping the death toll at 12,096.

87 junior doctors at Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) in the city tested positive for Coronavirus. Officials said that samples of 194 doctors were sent for testing after they complained of symptoms.

The administration has swung into action and embarked on an active contact tracing drive. Patna District Magistrate said that PG hostel of the NMCH hospital will be first containment zone in the city. The IMA function was attended by a number of dignitaries, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Earlier, on Saturday two doctors of AIIMS, Patna had tested positive for Covid-19. According to the IMA, Bihar was among the states reporting the highest number of doctors’ deaths during the second wave earlier this year.

“As many as 87 doctors and medicos of our institution have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last two days. As many as 75 of the 194 samples tested on real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) were positive on Sunday, while 12 had tested positive on Saturday,” said Dr Binod Kumar Singh, medical superintendent of the NMCH.

Two assistant professors, including one who recently returned from Andaman and Nicobar, at AIIMS-Patna, have also tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday, said its nodal officer Dr Sanjeev Kumar.

Other than Patna, the fresh surge has badly hit Gaya, an important Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage centre, which accounted for 110 of the fresh cases. Patna (544) and Gaya (277) together also account for about 80 per cent of the state’s total active caseload.

Of the 7,27,529 people who have tested positive for Covid-19 in the state till date, 7,14,358 have recovered. Altogether 6.12 crore samples have been tested so far, including 95,785 in the last 24 hours. The state has so far accounted for one confirmed case of the Omicron variant.