The third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has already begun in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Tuesday, adding all necessary arrangements were being made to prevent people from catching the infection. Speaking at the 96th national conference of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in Patna, the Bihar chief minister also applauded the role of doctors in serving people during the first and second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The doctors worked tirelessly risking their lives and treated both Covid and non-Covid patients when the first and second waves of Covid hit the state. They deserve all the appreciations,” Nitish Kumar said.
The health department was busy improving facilities at the hospitals as per the guidelines issued by the central and state governments since the third wave has already begun in the state, the Bihar chief minister said.
Speaking about the work being done by the government to improve healthcare facilities in the state, Kumar said, “The Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) is being developed as a world-class facility with over 5,400 beds. The number of beds at NMCH and some other medical colleges and hospitals in the state was also being increased."
He said besides setting up new departments, the number of beds at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Patna was also being increased.
Earlier on Saturday, Nitish Kumar had ruled out the probability of bringing in restrictive measures in the state.
"Yahan abhi koi avashyakta nahin hain" (it is not needed here as of now) was the terse reply of Kumar when he was asked about night curfews being introduced by the Yogi Adityanath administration in UP.
COVID-19 restrictions in Bihar
Meanwhile, the Bihar government on Tuesday ordered to close parks including the Jaivik Udyaan from December 31 to January 2.
"It has been also decided that the New Year celebration will not take place in any park here. The decision has been taken to avoid the crowd on New year," the order read.
According to the order, it will also be mandatory to follow the SOPs issued by the government to prevent any kind of political, social, religious, cultural, sports-related events in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Omicron variant cases in India
India recorded the highest single-day rise of Omicron infections with 180 fresh cases, taking the total tally of such infections in the country to 961, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
The 961 cases have been detected across 22 states and UTs so far, and 320 people have recovered or migrated.
Delhi recorded the maximum number of 263 cases followed by Maharashtra at 252, Gujarat 97, Rajasthan 69, Kerala 65 and Telangana 62.
The daily rise in COVID-19 cases crossed the 13,000 mark after around 49 days, taking the total tally to 3,48,22,040, while the active cases increased to 82,402, according to the data updated at 8 am.
The death toll has climbed to 4,80,860 with 268 fresh fatalities.
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