Bihar: COVID-19 Lockdown Suggestion

Taking cognizance of the recent surge in the number of COVID cases in the country, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has suggested an immediate national lockdown for 15 days to stop the spread of infection.

Supporting IMA's suggestion, the Bihar chapter of IMA has also been vocal about the importance of imposing the lockdown after the death toll in the state increased to 2926 due to COVID.

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The president-elect of national IMA, Dr. Sahajanand Prasad Singh commented on the importance of the lockdown and said, "We want that government should impose an immediate 15 days national lockdown to break the chain of COVID contraction. We have previously noticed that countries like the United States and Italy which did not give importance to lockdown had to pay a heavy price as the mortality rate swiftly increased there. India must learn from the global scenario."

The doctor further added, "At a time like this when the second wave of COVID has been proved fatal to the young generation also, the government must impose a lockdown for at least 15 days. Our healthcare facilities are already under tremendous pressure due to the increased burden of patients, a national lockdown will help in relieving their burden to a certain degree. Bihar government has already accepted our suggestion and imposed a lockdown for the next few days."

Commenting on the issue, Dr. Ajay Kumar, vice president of the IMA Bihar unit stated that many senior doctors and heads of the institutions also supported the lockdown though a few might have opposed it. Stating that almost 99% of doctors supported the decision of lockdown, Dr. Kumar stated, "The problem is that all the people are not being tested. There is a need of accelerating the rate of the test in the state. Most of the asymptomatic patients who have not been tested for COVID-19 roam freely; hence, all the people are at constant risk of exposure to the infection. This is high time that Government employees lockdown for a short span to improve the situation."

He also informed that he practices in rural areas and there are many people who come for a consultation at the private clinic but do not adopt all the preventive measures against COVID. He himself would give sanitizer and masks to certain patients to ensure that proper precautions and COVID protocols are followed. When questioned about the economic effect of the lockdown, the doctor stated, "We earn to live and not live to earn. I know that some may argue that the country's economy will suffer and I will not deny that; however, I am asking to impose the lockdown just for the short span as it can significantly improve the current health scenario of the state."

"I approached many senior doctors who are in favour of an immediate lockdown. I have spoken to the directors of AIIMS-Patna, Dr. PK Singh, and the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Dr. NR Biswas, besides the principal of the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH), Dr. Vidyapati Choudhary, superintendents of PMCH, Dr. IS Thakur, NMCH, Dr. Binod Kumar Singh and the Netaji Subhas Medical College and Hospital Dr. Uday Kumar. All of us are unanimous about a lockdown", stated Dr. Kumar.