COVID-19 lockdown: Central govt should take a call on lockdown, Bihar will follow, says Nitish Kumar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday interacted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video-conferencing and said that the Central government should take a decision on whether to extend the lockdown or not.

"Nitish Kumar said that the Central government has to decide whether to extend the lockdown or not. The opinion of experts should be taken for the decision. We will follow the decision of the Central government in the matter," an official statement said.

It said that Prime Minister Modi in the video conference lauded the united efforts of the people, state governments and the Central government in the fight against coronavirus.

"He (Nitish Kumar) said that to identify COVID-19 cases, we are conducting door to door screening in line with the plus polio scheme. So far, 4 crore members of 75 lakh families have been screened for coronavirus in the state," the statement said.

"Coronavirus cases have been detected in 48 divisions of 22 districts in the state. Six labs in the state are conducting coronavirus tests," it added.

Nitish said that as on April 14, there were only 66 positive cases in the state, however, the figure now stands at 290.

He also talked about the students from Bihar stranded in Rajasthan's Kota and said that since Bihar is following the lockdown guidelines issued by the Central government, it will not be possible to bring anyone back to the state until the lockdown is lifted.

Although, Nitish Kumar said that the state government has decided to give Rs 1,000 as assistance to the people from Bihar stranded in other states.

"We have already received around 25 lakh requests under this scheme and we have deposited Rs 1,000 to the bank accounts of 15 lakh people," it added.

(ANI)

Also Read: Stigma around COVID-19 should be addressed through intensive campaign, says Health Ministry