Bihar to Start Door to Door Screening in 4 Districts to Detect COVID-19 Cases

From April 16, Bihar will start door to door screening for suspected patients of coronavirus, a first in the country. According to a press release from CMO, Bihar on 15th April the campaign will start from tomorrow in Sewan, Begusarai, Nalanda and Nawada districts.

The focus is to assess the community spread of the virus in the areas where cases of coronavirus have been already found earlier. The campaign will run along the lines of the successful Pulse Polio campaign.

Treating the locations where the infected people have been found as the epicenter, door to door screenings will be conducted in a three-kilometer radius with a special focus on senior citizens. Bihar has so far managed to contain the spread of the virus with only 66 cases in a state with over 100 million people.

CM Nitish Kumar also said that screening of all people who had entered the state between March 1 and 23 will also be conducted through the door-to-door method. Essentially the people with travel history from other states will be checked for any symptoms of the COVID-19.

Bihar government is provisioning special training, along with medical and protective equipment like masks and gloves, for the workers who will be involved in the door-to-door screening process in Bihar.

The Chief Minister also appealed to the people to help the frontline workers and boost their morale.

Bihar, so far, has 66 confirmed cases of COVID-19, out of which 26 patients have recovered and discharged, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday. Sewan has the highest number of 29 cases in Bihar.