People get ‘atmanirbhar’ in combating COVID in Bihar  

Things had started looking suspicious right when the Central government team had said that “The Bihar government has done a tremendous job in controlling Corona cases”. Things turned more fishy when the numbers started increasing fast and then the miracle happened- the number of patients started decreasing like in a free fall.

Komal Verma of Patna would have really believed in this achievement of the Bihar government, if five people in her own family had not become Coronavirus-positive and had not been cured at home. One after the other, five members of her family fell sick. Two showed symptoms, three were asymptomatic. She says, “We did not tryst the government hospital and did not have the money for treatment in the private hospitals. Some doctor advised us to get a treatment from a private clinic. One of the patients needed the treatment too. After about 25 days, all the patients recovered. During these 25 days, all the neighbours also came to know about my family members but no one came from the government nor did any call come.” Komal doesn’t believe in the reports that the number of Coronavirua patients is decreasing in Bihar. She says even the media was managed and manipulated so that the Assembly elections can be held on time.

The game of hiding the real number of Coronavirua patients started long back in Bihar. In Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and other cities of the state, this game was relatively easier as information about deaths in the Medical College Hospitals were also hard to find. The same model was later implemented in the capital city of Patna and, home quarantine was said to be the better alternative. The current condition is that people in all parts of the state, including Patna, are treating Coronavirus at their own level. The government is saying that the number of patients visiting the hospitals has decreased. This is happening because people have been told that home quarantine is safer. The doctors are also aware of this, but nobody wants to speak. To speak means to draw government ire.

Patients not on radar despite tests

In his first virtual rally on September 7, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar mentioned that soon RT-PCR testing capacity in the state would cross 23,35007 and 8,800 COBAS machines would be pressed into service. But he expressed his apprehension that the number of patients may suddenly increase.

The Bihar government has improved the pace of testing, but when private labs were given permission, the urban population turned to them. Nitish also admitted in the rally that there’s no guarantee the reports of the two-net and rapid antigen testing would be 100% correct. Most doctors have already been telling the same to people and this was the reason that a large number of people opted for testing in private labs. The report of the government test is made available on your mobile. But the patients are not further asked about their condition or well being. That means the government is not keeping a record of whether the Coronavirus positive patient has recovered or succumbed to the disease. A resident of Anandpuri says, “One of my relatives was infected with Coronavirus, he did not even let his neighbours know about it. It would have caused undue problems. Daily, he was given a particular type of saline solution in a clinic at Kankar bagh. HRCT test was conducted. In between, he was administered a tablet too but when he had trouble in breathing, he was again given the medicine through saline. The patient is fine now. But there was a time when his condition would have worsened had we taken him to the hospital.”

Many doctors of the city have also been taking this treatment in the same clinic and many bureaucrats are also recommending this clinic. A doctor who has been treating some critical patients of COVID-19 says, “I am treating in my own way and people are getting cured. Considering the fatality rate in government hospitals, people are being drawn to the clinic. The government may harass me for not following the COVID guidelines, so I think it’s much better to focus on curing people instead of getting my name published.”