Arvind Kejriwal Tests Positive For Covid

New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal tweeted this morning that he has tested positive for Covid and has isolated himself at home. The Delhi Chief Minister, who addressed massive rallies to campaign for polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand in the past three days, said he had “mild symptoms”.

“I have tested positive for Covid. Mild symptoms. Have isolated myself at home. Those who came in touch with me in last few days, kindly isolate yourself and get yourself tested,” posted the Chief Minister.

Mr Kejriwal, 53, has been on a whirlwind campaign for his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) amid surging Covid cases in the country. He was in Dehradun yesterday, and he had held rallies in Amritsar and Patiala before that.

“The Chief Minister getting Covid is not a big issue. But people should be alert and everyone will be protected from infection if they wear masks,” Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain said.

Delhi has reported a rising positivity rate with 4,099 new cases in 24 hours on Monday. According to an official statement, the positivity rate in Delhi is 6.46 per cent. As many as 6,288 COVID-19 patients are in home isolation.

On Monday, Delhi also recorded one Covid death.

The Omicron variant is driving most of the cases in Delhi, say experts. “As per genome sequencing reports of December 30-31 from three labs, 81 per cent samples were infected with Omicron. Most of the cases are of Omicron,” Satyender Jain had said yesterday.

The surge may trigger new restrictions under the colour-coded Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), according to Sources. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority will meet today for a decision.

With the positivity rate above 5 per cent for two straight days, Delhi faces “red alert” restrictions like a total curfew barring essential services, a shutdown of non-essential shops, malls and salons and more curbs on public transport, weddings and funerals.

A “yellow alert” has been in place in the capital since December 29. Cinemas, gyms are shut and shops have been allowed on an odd-even basis. Metro trains and buses can only operate at half the capacity.

Mr Kejriwal had last week urged people not to panic, amid rising cases, saying the situation is under control as hospitalisations are low.

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