
The records from two districts- Jamui and Sheikhpura showed that in some cases, people who were tested had mobile numbers in their data that were owned by unrelated people. With such errors in the information, it is likely that contact-tracing during a pandemic becomes challenging, especially in COVID-19 positive cases.
State Health Department Principal Secretary Pratyaya Amrit has acknowledged this and addressed the irregularities that were found in Bihar’s districts. Amrit said that the departmental enquiry has begun against the ones held accountable and it will be ensured that those found guilty must face action. He said that they have completed random probes in 26 districts and they also find some discrepancies in several phone numbers. While physical probes have indicated that tests were actually conducted, the medical officers are served with show-cause notice for improper data preparation. “Offenders cannot undermine the efforts of those who risked their everything for countering the onslaught of the Coronavirus infection,” the report quoted Amrit as saying.
Among 885 testing entries that have been tabulated, only 230 confirmed getting tested. There were 325 entries which had 10 zeroes under mobile numbers or the contact columns were just left blank. Nine officials have also been suspended.
Meanwhile, an official in Begusarai said that they cannot risk anything and give in under the pressure of meeting the testing target. Now they are also asking for some documents and jotting down complete addresses just in case of phone number absence. This way, people can be traced. It is to note that the state is testing around 20,000 RT-PCR samples in a day and some districts have done away with daily antigen testing targets.
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