Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal, the face of the Centre’s daily Covid briefings in the initial months of the pandemic, on Friday announced that he has tested positive for the coronavirus and will be under home isolation.
“Dear all, just to inform that I have tested positive for Covid-19 and initiating home isolation as per guidelines,” he tweeted. “Requesting all my friends, colleagues for self monitoring. Contact tracing will be done by health team. Hoping to see everyone soon.”
Agarwal was part of the Centre’s team inspecting the efficacy of containment strategies adopted by states to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. He was seen regularly in the government press briefings in April and May. Since mid-May, the briefings have become less frequent.
The health official had also visited Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana and Bihar to examine the situation.
India on Friday reported 64,553 new cases in 24 hours, taking its tally to 24,61,190. The toll rose by 1,007 to 48,040.
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