Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, July 20
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on Sunday evening talked to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over telephone and discussed about the twin issues of corona and floods in the state.
Kumar briefed the PM about the measures taken to combat coronavirus in the state.
Meanwhile as the three members multi-disciplinary team of the union health ministry arrived here for review of the medical care for the Corona patients, Union Law and Justice Minister Ravishankar Prasad, who represents Patna Saheb in Lok Sabha, expressed concern over rising number of Corona cases in the state.
“He was pained to learn the number was increasing menacingly daily,” Prasad said. He suggested that the number of Corona dedicated hospitals should be increased and more beds should be added to the AIIMS besides a wing of Patna Medical College Hospital should be converted into Covid-dedicated hospital.
Union Minister asked the officials to take over big private hospitals in Bihar and convert them into dedicated Covid hospitals without further delay. The ESI hospital at Bihta on the outskirts of the city should also be made Covid dedicated hospital.
Union minister of state for health, Ashwini Kumar Chaubey, who represents Buxar in Lok Sabha, had also talked to Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and informed in addition to 100 ventilators sent last month, 264 more ventilators have reached Patna. He asked the state government to speed up trekking, tracing and testing,
He regretted in the last ten days, there was an alarming surge in the number of Corona patients in Bihar that surged from 10,000 on July 1 to 26000 within two weeks. So far, 208 people have died of Corona in Bihar.
Opposition leaders have criticised the state government for its “failure” to control spread of Coronavirus. Leader of opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav commented the NDA was more concerned about elections and engaged in virtual rallies than care for the Corona patients.