Bihar's migrants return to face stigma, under-prepared medical facilities 1

Public healthcare systems in the migrants' home state are under-equipped to deal with the challenge of COVID-19, and experts warn that many of the migrants might well be infected and take the pandemic with them, as IndiaSpend reported on March 28, 2020. People have been calling up hospitals, the police stations, and district government officials to report COVID-19-related issues. The Bihar government issued a circular on March 22, 2020, instructing district magistrates to make temporary arrangements in government schools and community centres to quarantine returning workers. In Siwan district, the local administration is focusing on the 648 people who are under observation and on international migrant workers, said Amit Kumar Pandey, the district magistrate.