PATNA: Contrary to an earlier perception that old people are more vulnerable to COVI-19, hundreds below 40 years of age, including minors, have got infected by the virus in Bihar.
Admitting this fact, principal secretary of health, Sanjay Kumar said that a large number of children and youth have got infected after coming into contact with people in family and friend circles infected by the virus.
According official statistical figures shared by the principal secretary, 64 people in the age group of 0-20, 58 between the age of 21-30 and 53 in the 31-40 category have been infected between March 24 and April 25. The data shows that women constitute 42% of the total positive cases in Bihar.
As per an initial finding, children and young adults mainly get infected due to ignorance about the contagious nature of the disease and after coming into contact with infected family members unintentionally.
As on Monday, the total number of positive cases in Bihar stands at 274 with 2 deaths and 56 recoveries.
The highest number of cases - 65 has been reported from Munger, which has become the major hotspot of Bihar after Nalanda, Patna, Siwan and Buxar.
Kumar said that 2573 people with cough and breathing issues were checked during the door to door screening campaign that started on April 16 and a total of 3,96,39,648 households have been surveyed.
"Among them, 2203 members have been found without any travel history outside the state while 37 have returned from foreign countries and 333 from returned from other states", he said.