Patna: Amid an upsurge in COVID-19 cases in some states, Bihar has decided to send samples to the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) in Bhubaneswar to test for the new variants.
“Every day, 10 samples that have tested positive for COVID-19 through the RT-PCR method would be sent to Bhubaneswar for the tests,” health department principal secretary Pratyaya Amrit was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
The decision was taken following a slight rise in the positivity rate on Monday compared to the previous two Mondays, he said.
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Amrit, however, clarified that no new COVID-19 variants have been detected in Bihar so far.
“Officials concerned have been instructed to be ready with adequate number of beds in the event of a spike in cases,” he added.
