By Manoj Pathak

Patna, Apr 13 (IANS): The recovery rate of Covid-19 patients continues to decline after a rapid spike in the number of infected persons in Bihar. The state's recovery rate was recorded at more than 99 per cent during March, which has now slumped to 93 per cent. According to the health department, the infection-free rate has declined after the rise in the number of infected persons, which has brought down the recovery rate.

According to data released by the health department, the recovery rate of Covid-infected persons has declined by three per cent in the last five days. According to the data, 85,050 samples were tested in the state on April 7, of which 1,527 were detected to be new infected cases. The infection rate in the state was 1.79 per cent on this day, while the recovery rate was 97.24 per cent.

According to the health department data, the state recorded an infection-free rate of 99.23 per cent on March 20, registering a steady decline. On March 25, the infection-free rate had fallen to 99.06 per cent, which further reduced to 98.81 per cent on March 31.

As per the state health data, the infection-free rate was recorded at 96.68 per cent on April 8, while it fell to 96.03 per cent on April 9 and 95.13 per cent on April 10. On April 11, the figure further plunged to 94.24 per cent.

On April 12, 80,018 samples were tested, detecting 2,999 new infected persons. As many as 636 people returned to their homes after recovering from the virus Thus, the recovery rate in the state reached 93.48 per cent on Monday, said a health department official.

The number of active patients has also registered an increase due to the decline in the rate of recovery from the infection. In Patna, 289 micro-containment zones have been created after the number of infected persons increased.

The number of infected cases is said to be more in urban areas than rural areas. The number of micro-containment zones in Patna Sadar division is 163, while the number of micro-containment zones in Paliganj is only nine. Health Minister Mangal Pandey said instructions have been issued to increase the number of beds for corona patients in all hospitals in the state.

At present, there are 17,052 active Covid-19 patients in 38 districts of Bihar after 2,999 new positive cases were reported in the state on Monday. As many as 80,018 samples were tested during the last 24 hours.