COVID-19 gives Bihar politicians a fright as it enters the corridor of power in the state

[the_ad_placement id=”adsense-in-feed”]

By Dheeraj Sinha

Patna: State Backward and Extremely Backward Classes Welfare Minister Vinod Kumar Singh and his wife, who were tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday have quarantined themselves at an isolation ward set up in a hotel in Katihar. Senior Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and former Union minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh too was tested positive for the coronavirus and was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Patna. Yet another political leader, BJP MLA Jivesh Kumar Mishra from the Jale Assembly constituency in Darbhanga district, was tested positive and was admitted to AIIMS-Patna for supervision.

Minister Singh, who is a BJP MLA from Pranpur Assembly constituency in north Bihar’s Katihar district,had returned to Katihar on Sunday from Patna. He is the first Minister of Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance government in Bihar to test positive for the coronavirus. He said that when his test was returned positive, he went to the Katihar Medical College and Hospital, and thereafter to the isolation ward set up at a hotel in the town.

[the_ad_placement id=”content-placement-after-3rd-paragraph”]

As the state on Monday reported 282 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 9506 in the state, the total number of Covid-19 cases in Patna alone rose to 643 with 86 fresh cases, highest ever spike. Maximum cases were reported from Paliganj in Patna district.

According to state health department, the death toll of Covid-19 patients in the state has gone up to 62, with a total of 9,117 cases testing positive. As many as 6,930 patients have recovered so far. A total 1.98 lakh samples have been tested. Recovery rate of patients in the state, at 78%, has been higher than the national average of 58.14%, Health Department officials said.

[the_ad_placement id=”sidebar-feed”]