COVID-19: Nitish Kumar Urges Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri To Suspend All Flights To Bihar

In the wake of coronavirus outbreak, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Sunday suggested Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri to suspend all flights coming to Bihar, say reports. Earlier in the day, Bihar reported its first death due to COVID-19. The 38-year-old man, who died in Patna, was tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday.

On Saturday, Nitish Kumar had held a meeting to review the preparedness in tackling the coronavirus outbreak in the state. The meeting was attended by his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, Health Minister Mangal Pandey, Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar, Director General of Police (DGP) Gupteshwar Pandey and Patna Divisional Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Agarwal.

An official statement after meeting said that intense screening of passengers is being done at Patna and Gaya airports. The Bihar  government has also made special arrangements in order to keep passengers coming from abroad in quarantine, the statement added.

"One patient passed away yesterday due to kidney failure, his tests have come positive for coronavirus. A woman has also tested positive, she is admitted at AIIMS”, news agency ANI quoted CM Nitish Kumar as saying.

Earlier, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had appealed to the people of the state to observe Janata Curfew on Sunday by staying indoors in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

According to latest updates, the total number of confirmed positive cases of coronavirus has gone up to to 341 in India which also includes foreign nationals.

(With PTI inputs)