Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that he has tested positive for coronavirus. He has isolated himself at home.
The chief minister asked those who came in contact with him over the last few days to quarantine themselves and get tested.
Since December, Kejriwal has been campaigning in poll-bound states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa.
In the last week alone, he held at least four rallies in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, PTI reported.
On December 30, he was part of the victory march in Chandigarh after his Aam Aadmi Party won 14 of the 35 wards in the municipal corporation polls.
A day later, he participated in “Shanti Match” in Punjab’s Patiala city, which was attended by hundreds of people, ANI reported.
On Sunday, he was among the political leaders who attended crowded events in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. Majority of the leaders were seen without a mask at these rallies.
On Monday, he addressed a large public gathering in Dehradun, PTI reported.
Last year, several ministers from the Delhi Cabinet had tested positive for coronavirus. This includes Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Health Minister Satyendar Jain, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot and Environment Minister Gopal Rai.
The Delhi chief minister’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal, had also tested positive. Arvind Kejriwal had developed symptoms of the infection, but he had tested negative.
Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Manoj Tiwari also tested positive for Covid-19.
Surjewala said that he had a mild fever and cold on Monday night, after which he got himself tested for the coronavirus. He urged people who came in contact with him in the past day to “take appropriate precautions” and to get themselves tested.
Tiwari said that he had been feeling unwell since January 2. “Yesterday, I could not go to Rudrapur in Uttarakhand for campaigning due to a slight fever and cold,” he said on Twitter. “I have tested positive today...I had isolated myself yesterday itself as a precautionary measure. Please take care of yourself and your families.”
Coronavirus cases increased sharply in Delhi on Monday, with the capital recording 4,099 new infections in the past 24 hours. The new cases on Monday were 28.33% higher than Sunday’s count of 3,194 infections.
Delhi currently has 10,986 active Covid-19 cases and 420 people are currently in hospital due to the disease. Out of these, 124 patients are on oxygen support, while seven patients are on ventilator support.
Jain said that the Omicron variant is now the dominant strain in the capital. He said that 81.28% of the coronavirus cases in the national capital in the last few days were of the Omicron variant.
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