Ventilator-equipped hospital to be set up at Nitish Kumar's residence

Patna (Bihar) [India], July 7 : A ventilator equipped hospital will be set up at the residence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Six doctors and three nurses from the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH), which is incidentally the only COVID hospital in the state, will work in three shifts at the chief minister's residence to assure round the clock duty. The medical equipment for the hospital too will come from PMCH, as per an order by the PMCH after the health secretary directed the hospital to do so as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.
This comes after test reports of the niece of the Chief Minister returned positive for COVID-19. According to sources, she has been taken to the isolation ward at a hospital here for treatment and the official residence of the chief minister is being sanitised.
Kumar and four of his secretaries had got themselves tested for coronavirus earlier on Saturday after they attended an event in which Acting Chairman of the state Legislative Council Awadhesh Narayan Singh, who tested positive for coronavirus, had participated in.
The chief minister's test reports are said to have returned negative.
According to an order issued by the Director, PMCH, "According to the orders given by the Additional Secretary, Health Department, Bihar over the phone, in view of the controlling the spread of coronavirus infection and keeping the preventive measures in mind a ventilator-equipped hospital is to be operated at the Chief Minister's residence. For this, doctors and nurses working at PMCH are being deputed in three shifts."
The order signed today comes into force with immediate effect.
Meanwhile, former Bihar deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has attacked the chief minister over this move.
Through a tweet, Yadav questioned as to why the facilities being provided to Nitish Kumar are not there for the common man even after four months of the breakout of COVID-19.
"The CM's corona testing is done in just two hours and the report too comes. His niece gets infected with corona and a ventilator-equipped hospital and six doctors, nurses and an army of medical workers is deployed at his house. Even after four months why are these facilities unavailable for the common man?" Yadav's tweet, roughly translated in English from Hindi, read.
Yadav had earlier today accused the State government of ignoring the rapidly rising coronavirus cases as it remains focused on preparing for the upcoming state elections.
"The coronavirus cases are increasing at a very high rate in Bihar. But the government is neither worried about tests, nor about treatment. The entire government machinery is busy with the upcoming elections. It is hiding figures. If the government does not watch out, then the situation may become more explosive by August-September", Yadav tweeted.
Currently, Bihar has 12,125 confirmed Covid-19 cases, 8,997 patients have recovered, while 97 have lost their lives.
The state elections are slated to be held later this year for 243 Assembly seats.