PATNA: Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey on Monday flagged off 18 ambulances to four districts affected by Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES).
Nine ambulances were despatched to the most-affected Muzaffarpur district. East Champaran, Darbhanga and Saran districts got 4, 3 and 2 ambulances respectively.
The intensive monitoring of AES-affected areas is being carried out daily from the health minister's office, sources said.
"According to the SOP, all the necessary preparations and training to contain AES have been completed. A review has also been done at district levels", Pandey said.
Pandey claimed that there is no shortage of medicines and equipments needed to fight COVID-19 in the state. "The sample testing facility of Coronavirus has also started in PMCH. Procurement of essential medicine and equipments is being regularized and necessary quantities are also being supplied", he said.
A total of 40 thousand 958 PPE kits have arrived in the last week of March. "Currently 30 thousand 463 testing kits are in stock. The state procured 40,958
N-95 masks of which 58 thousand 600 is still available," the minister said.
So far, a total of 3738 samples of coronavirus suspects have been collected and tested in the state. Only 32 people have been found positive and four patients have recovered so far.