PATNA: Bihar is fighting against the outbreak of COVID-19 on war-footing said state health minister Mangal Pandey adding that it "would be the winner by annihilating the viruses of COVID-19".
Claiming that the door-to-door screening started across the state from April 16 has more focus in the four worst coronavirus-hit districts, Pandey said, "More than 1,84,05712 people living in 33,86,685 houses have been screened till April 19 from April 16 by a team of 15,462 health workers, which is first of its kind mega drive ever taken at a time in the country".
On being asked, Pandey said that there is no such dearth of medical workers with PPE kits and other items, which can either slow down the testings of COVID-19 pandemic in the state. He said that the state health department has implemented three-ways of screening amid the lockdown from individual to community levels.
"The department of health is expediting sample testings and in order to provide door-to-door screening and screening of more people, the capacity of sample testing has been increased in RMRI. Another RTPCR machine has been installed at RMRI with an enhanced capacity of 700 to 800 samples testing per day," Pande said.
At six centres in the state, samples testing facilities have started from Patna to Muzaffarpur, and Darbhanga. "The manner in which people have followed the lockdown and shown their will and collective efforts in the war against the COVID-19 by implementing social distancing, we can say that Bihar has won the war to a great extent," he said.
When asked about the growing number of positive cases,the minister said categorically, Pandey said, "The situation in Bihar is quite good as compared to other states of the country. If the number of corona positive cases in the state has increased, then patients are also recovering in that proportion, which is better in India."
Putting figures of testing kits, he said that Bihar is the third state after Maharashtra and Rajasthan which has got 6240 Rapid Test Kits from the side of government of India and another consignment is exoected to come soon. He also said that the state health society has also stated an online session of yoga for the people stuck in their homes during the lockdown at 8 am.
On being asked how the state health department is geared up to tackle the outbreak of AES, he said, "Awareness drives are going on in full swing in Muzaffarpur and other adjoining districts ahead of feared-outbreak of AES like viral fever among the children. A special dedicated hospital ward of G plus five floors are near completion at SKMCH in Muzaffarpur".
This special pediatrics ward would be a capacity of 100 beds with all modern life saving medical facilities at the estimate cost of around Rs 70 crore. He said that the state government is prepared to provide better health care facilities at SKMCH for AES patients now as the hospital may start functioning by May 15.