Tejashwi Yadav slams Nitish Kumar's Bihar govt over Covid testing numbers; says 'wake up'

Slamming the Nitish Kumar led Bihar government, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has said that the state is not testing enough and state government is not paying heed to the request of the opposition. Taking to Twitter on Thursday, he claimed that from May 1 to May 21, only 1510 tests per day has been done in the state. Tejashwi Yadav who is the son of former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav returned to the state capital Patna last week from Delhi after he was stuck there due to nationwide lockdown. 

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Earlier on Wednesday, Tejashwi had claimed that there has only been 'paperwork' in the name of screening. He highlighted that until there is not enough testing, it is neither possible to assess the severity of the problem nor to find a solution. In a press release by Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD leader has also alleged that the healthcare system of the state has been destroyed in the last 15 years and that there is a shortage of PPE kits, testing kits and ventilators. 

"We have called for testing of migrant workers entering the state and that there should be proper arrangement for their quarantine. Social distancing is not followed in quarantine centres in Bihar and also there are no masks. The situation of quarantine centres is such that they themselves have become a spot for spreading infection," ANI quoted Tejashwi Yadav.

Bihar coronavirus cases

Ninety-six people tested positive for COVID-19 in Bihar on Wednesday, raising the total number of coronavirus cases confirmed in the state so far to 1,675, an official said. State epidemiologist Ragini Mishra said East Champaran reported the maximum number of 26 cases followed by Buxar (21), Darbhanga and Patna (9 each), Siwan (8) Nawada (7), Bhojpur (6), Bhagalpur (3), Supaul (2) and Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Nalanda and Vaishali (1 each). “The number of samples tested so far is 62,503 and 571 people have been discharged till date after full recovery,” she told PTI-Bhasha.

Among the worst-affected districts, Patna has reported the maximum 176 cases followed by Munger (133), Rohtas (91), Buxar (85), Begusarai (82), Madhubani (80), Nalanda (79), and Khagaria (70). Cases have been reported in all the 38 districts of the state and only Sheohar (05) and Araria (04) have single-digit tallies, the state health department said.

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Nine people – two each in Patna and Vaishali and one each from Munger, East Champaran, Rohtas, Khagaria and Sitamarhi – have died. More than a thousand of the state’s cases have been reported since May 03, after the heavy influx of migrants started with the plying of “Shramik Special” trains. The state health department said the number of migrants who have tested positive upon arrival is 788. Most of them have come from places like Delhi (249), Maharashtra (187), Gujarat (158), Haryana (43), West Bengal (38), Uttar Pradesh (28) and Rajasthan (25).

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