Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday asserted that reports claiming 148 train passengers recently tested positive for COVID-19 at Madhubani railway station are false.

He said that no fresh case has been detected in the north Bihar district.

“No fresh COVID-19 case has been detected in Madhubani. Recent reports claiming that 148 train passengers coming from various parts of the country tested positive for the infection at the railway station are not true. It was a matter of concern for us. Health officials are looking into it,” the chief minister told reporters.

A senior health official said that rapid antigen detection (RAD) kits falsely reported 76 of the 148 samples collected between September 18 and 20 as positive, triggering fears of a fresh COVID wave.

“The 148 samples were sent for RT-PCR tests, and all the reports returned negative. There is no positive case in Madhubani,” Health Minister Mangal Pandey said.

Health Department sources said that the district administration may order a probe to find out how the RAD kits had given false reports.