Patna: After 12 Buddhist tourists tested Covid positive at Bodh Gaya, about 135 km south from Patna, a 26-year-old woman on Monday night found infected at Dulhin Bazar village, about 30 km from the Bihar capital.
The health department on Tuesday, in new guidelines, asked the district magistrates to associate local panchayats, urban bodies, police, child and women welfare department and other related departments in detecting Covid cases and ensuring vaccination.
At the annual conclave of Buddhist monks and pilgrims, Bodh Gaya reported 12 tourists being isolated and sent back to their country's monasteries in the town. The administration asked the pilgrims to wear a face mask. Entry to the Kal Chakra Maudan, where the Dalai Lama is giving sermons, was restricted and only those with vaccine certificates were allowed.
Officials said conclave pilgrims are screened at the Bodh Gaya international airport and Gaya railway station. About 60,000 devotees from 12 countries have visited the State. One pilgrim coming to Bodh Gaya was detained at the Netaji Subhas Bose airport in Kolkata.
Travel agencies in Patna and Ranchi, Jharkhand, on Tuesday witnessed a large scale cancellations of bookings to Goa, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra as news about spread of coronavirus trickled in.
Health Minister Banna Gupta said, “Jharkhand has started the thermal screening of passengers at Ranchi and Deoghar airports. Those coming by road at Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, UP and Chhattisgarh borders are asked to undergo a Covid test.”
He said 1,456 ventilators-equipped and 11,356 oxygen-equipped beds in Covid wards were ready.
