Bihar govt worried about spike in COVID-19 cases as migrant workers return

The fears of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that the return of migrant workers could lead to increase in COVID-19 cases in Bihar seem to be coming true with 148 of them testing positive in the first few days itself.

The Bihar Chief Minister mentioned the figure during the interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, held through video conferencing, on Monday.

A Minister in the Bihar Cabinet, who is close to the CM, said that Kumar was aware of the problem but the opposition in the state had tried to paint an anti-migrant worker image of the government.

Earlier on May 10, Principal Secretary (Health) of the state had also informed that 44 migrant workers had tested positive for COVID-19 following their return to Bihar from other states.

The sudden rise of over 300 COVID-19 cases in the past week has become a matter of grave concern for the state government.

Bihar, alongwith neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, has one of the highest migrant worker population in the country.

In the days to come as more people them return to the state, the administration is fearful of a big spike in cases and of the infection spreading to even those regions which have remained untouched so far, according to senior leaders of the ruling Janata Dal-United (JDU).

As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the number of COVID-19 cases in Bihar stood at 747 on Tuesday, including 377 patients who have been cured and discharged.

Six deaths have occured due to the infection so far in the state.

( With inputs from ANI )