Patna: At least 75 BJP leaders including General Secretary Nagendra Nath, state General Minister Dinesh Kumar, state vice president Rajesh Verma, Radha Mohan Sharma tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday. In view of the continuing large scale spread of COVID-19 occurring in almost all the districts, the state government has re-imposed the lockdown till July 31.
There will be no restrictions on emergency services. Flight and train services will continue to operate. According to sources, mass congregation spots like shopping malls, religious places, gyms, and public transport services will remain prohibited.
A total of 100 samples of various party leaders were taken on Monday for testing out of which 75 of them have tested positive for the infection.
Taking it to Twitter, Tejashwi Yadav, RJD leader, said, "As many as 85 people have tested positive at CM Nitish Kumar's residence out of which 75 are state BJP leaders after a virtual rally was held. The staff of Deputy CM Sushil Modi, Chief Secretary, and many state officials have also tested positive."
"If CM and Deputy CM are not safe in the state, what would be the plight of the common man'? his tweet read.
The health department has expressed concern over the increasing COVID-19 cases in the districts following which panic has gripped the state.
Earlier this month, Nitish Kumar's niece had also tested positive for COVID-19 and his family members were home quarantined.
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The scheduled upcoming elections in October-November prompted BJP leaders to take part in the virtual rally and organise meetings at the party office to discuss various political developments in the state which further triggered the spread of the infection. The districts witnessing a high rate of infection include Patna, Siwan, Bhagalpur, Nalanda, Munger, and West Champaran.
Meanwhile, Shailesh Kumar, the Minister of Rural Works Department, had yesterday tested positive for COVID-19. Earlier, Backward and Extremely Backward Classes Welfare Minister Vinod Kumar Singh and his wife were also found to be coronavirus positive.
At present, there are 5,482 active cases in the state and the death toll is pegged at 160. A total of 12,317 people have been cured and discharged.
