Bihar CM Nitish Kumar asks people to stay away from COVID-19 related rumours

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday asked people not to pay heed to rumours linked to COVID-19 and instructed Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar and Director General of Police (DGP) Gupteshwar Pandey to involve all the District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police to ensure that no misinformation is being spread among the citizens in the state.

The Chief Minister further appealed to the residents of the state not to believe in any rumours and maintain peace, harmony and brotherhood amongst each other.

Kumar also reviewed the situation, arising out of the COVID-19 outbreak, in a meeting with senior officials of the state at his official residence here. He directed the concerned officials to ensure that the rules of social distancing be followed at the market places where people buy essential commodities.

"People should follow social distancing norms even at their homes. The government will ensure that the supply chain of essential commodities including food items will not be disrupted. We all have to fight the coronavirus pandemic by standing together," Bihar CM said in a release.

"Those who have recently come from outside Bihar or from outside the country should not hide their travel histories. This is in their interest as well as the society's interest," he added.

With two more COVID-19 cases in Bihar, the state's coronavirus tally has climbed to 60 on Friday.

According to the Bihar Health department, the two, a male (28) and female (10), are family members of the person who first tested positive for coronavirus in Siwan district.

India's tally of coronavirus cases has risen to 6,761, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday. 6,039 are active COVID-19 cases and 515 cases have been recovered/discharged and one case has migrated.

The death toll due to the virus has risen to 206.