Covid crisis: 87 doctors test positive in Bihar

87 doctors have tested positive for Covid-19 in a hospital in Patna, Bihar as the state saw 352 cases of the infection, 71 more than the previous day. According to the IMA, Bihar was among the states reporting the highest number of doctors' deaths during the second wave earlier this year.

Patna (Bihar):As many as 87 doctors have tested positive for Covid-19 in a hospital in Patna, Bihar on Sunday as the state saw 352 cases of the infection, 71 more than the previous day.

"87 doctors of Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) in Patna have tested positive for COVID-19. All of them are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms and are in isolation on the hospital campus," said Patna DM Chandrashekhar Singh.

Of the 194 samples tested on real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR), 75 returned positive on Sunday, while 12 had tested positive on Saturday.

According to reports, five of the 87 doctors and medicos positive are hospitalised while the remaining are under home isolation.

Many doctors to test positive had attended the two-day 96th national annual conference of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) held in Patna between December 27 and 28.

On Saturday and Friday, Bihar had registered 281 and 158 fresh cases respectively. However, no fatality due to the disease has been reported in the last four days and the death toll remained unchanged at 12,096.

The district administration in Patna has gone into a tizzy after the doctors at NMCH in the city tested positive for coronavirus.

The administration has swung into action and embarked on an active contact tracing drive.

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.

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.

Read:Third COVID wave in Bihar has begun: Nitish