PATNA: People arriving in Bihar from any other states during the forthcoming Diwali and Chhath festivals would have to go through a compulsory Covid-19 test on their arrival.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday asked the health department officials to ensure Covid-19 test of all those who would be arriving in the state from other places during the forthcoming festivals.
Chairing a meeting to review the functioning of the health department at ‘Sankalp’ hall of the CM's residence in Patna, Nitish asked the officials to maintain special vigil on the people arriving from other states at all the railway stations, bus stands and inter-state border check-points, and also make all necessary arrangements for covid-19 testing at all these places.
“If the people arriving in Bihar have not been vaccinated for Covid-19 so far, then ensure their vaccination,” Nitish told the officials.
He also ordered for maintaining a special vigil in the districts located along the border of Nepal in the wake of checking the spread of covid-19 infection.
“The natives of Bihar who are currently residing in other states, should be informed through different medium of propaganda that if they have got vaccinated and have already gone through an RT-PCR test, they must carry their vaccination and RT-PCR test certificates while coming to the home state,” the CM told the officials at the meeting.
While reviewing the vaccination drive, he asked the officials to ensure early vaccination of remaining people within the state.
He also asked the officials to ensure vaccination of all those people, who could not be vaccinated because of the non-availability of their Aadhaar number/ card, using any other document for their identification. He also ordered for making Aadhaar cards of such persons.
Nitish further ordered for increasing the number of Covid-19 testing in the state.
Earlier, the additional chief secretary (health) Pratyaya Amrit made a detailed presentation before the CM on the current status of works being done by the health department to check different diseases along with Covid-19.
Amrit told the CM that the ongoing vaccination drive would be more intensified across the state before the Chhath Mahaparv and the number of covid-19 testing would also be increased.
He said the health department would run a door-to-door campaign on October 18, 19 and 20 to motivate people to take their second dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
He said the WHO recently conducted a vaccination survey in East Champaran district. “The WHO, in its survey, has informed that 96 per cent people in East Champaran district have been vaccinated,” Amrit told the CM.
