Bihar will conduct 70,000 Covid-19 tests per day, says CM Nitish Kumar

Prime Minister Modi said today that states will have to step up testing, focus on maximising vaccination and minimising wastage.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday said that the state government has decided to take the number of daily Covid-19 tests to 70,000 once again, reported news agency ANI. The CM's remarks come shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted a virtual meeting today with the chief ministers of all states over the current developments in the country's coronavirus disease situation.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has promised free Covid 19 vaccination for residents of Bihar. (HT Photo/File)

"The Prime Minister held a meeting with all chief ministers today on the Covid-19 situation. Bihar government is alert, we will soon hold a meeting with all districts," ANI quoted Nitish Kumar as saying, "It has been decided to take the number of daily tests to 70,000 again."

Bihar, the state that many look at as relatively a 'success story' in terms of the reported Covid-19 data, flaunts one of the highest coronavirus case recovery rates in the country: 99.29 per cent. It has also reported a mortality rate of 0.58 per cent, one of the lowest in India.

Last Monday, the state created a record of sorts when it inoculated 1,73,137 people — the highest in a single day. The state had mobilised “Jeevika didis” and targeted to inoculate over 1 lakh women on Monday.

Now, in the face of what is being called the second wave of the Covid-19 infection, Bihar is upping its daily coronavirus testing. To tackle the new wave, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today handed out a five-point plan to the states, directing the authorities to "immediately stop" the emerging threat.

Reiterating his famous slogan 'Dawai bhi, kadai bhi' (yes to medicine, yes to caution), PM Modi said states will have to step up testing, focus on maximising vaccination and minimising wastage. In his five-point plan, the first is Covid-19 appropriate behaviour. In addition to that, the states will have to scale up RT-PCR tests, creating micro-containment zones, increase vaccination in both private and government hospitals and stop vaccine wastage.

About 70 districts of the country have seen an increase of more than 150 per cent in the number of Covid-19 cases in the last few weeks, PM Modi said, adding that if the spread can’t be contained now, a situation of a nationwide outbreak can come up. But at the same time, he emphasised that the authorities must ensure panic is not generated among the people.