Bihar heading towards becoming global COVID-19 hotspot:Tejashwi Yadav

Bihar is heading towards becoming a global hotspot of the COVID-19 pandemic, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said on Saturday, as he hit out at the Nitish Kumar government over the "low" number of tests being conducted.

Yadav, the leader of opposition in the state legislative assembly, said the government was testing around 10,000 samples per day against the required 30,000-35,000 tests a day given the size and population of Bihar.

If the required number of tests are conducted, 4,000- 5,000 cases would be detected every day, thus putting the state at the top in the country in terms of the spread of coronavirus, he claimed.

The former deputy chief minister said there is a strong possibility of Bihar not only becoming a national hotspot, rather it is heading towards becoming a global hotspot of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yadav said despite the low testing rate in the state, the number of positive cases has remained over 1,000 per day.

The positivity rate in Bihar was at 13 per cent between July 11-17, which is the highest in the country, and it showed that the state stood nowhere in terms of testing, he said.

A complete lockdown imposed from July 16 to July 31 will not serve any purpose if the testing rate and the bed capacity at hospitals are not augmented, he said.

Yadav said he would urge the central team that is arriving in the state on Sunday to ensure transparency in reporting of COVID-19 figures.

"I would request them to ask the state government to bring transparency in putting out the figures, besides ensuring special assistance from the central government, and look into the supply of oxygen concentrators and testing kits," he said. 

Image credits: PTI