Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The head of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is quarantining at home. “My Covid test was positive. Mild symptoms. I have isolated myself at home. Those who have contacted me in the past few days, please self-isolate and take self-test,” Kejriwal tweeted. AAP hopes to become a powerful force in the two elections.

On Monday, he addressed AAP’s “Nav Parivartan Yatra” at the parade ground in Dehradun.

In April last year, Kejriwal’s wife Sunita tested positive for Covid-19, after which the Chief Minister quarantined herself.

With the support of the new coronavirus variant Omicron, Delhi has been witnessing a surge in Covid-19 infections.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain told the State Assembly on Monday that Omicron is now the main variant in the capital because 81% of the genome sequenced samples found evidence of a severely mutated virus.

Delhi reported 4,099 new Covid infections on Monday, and the positive rate soared to 6.46%, the highest level since May 18, when the city recorded 4,482 new cases with a positive rate of 6.89%.

The rising positive rate has attracted the attention of health experts and may lead to stricter restrictions in the capital. Deputy Governor Anil Baijal will chair the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) meeting on Tuesday, and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and senior officials and experts will attend the meeting.

The agency is likely to discuss and consult experts to understand whether the capital needs more restrictions to contain the sharp rise.

Currently, Delhi is under the “yellow alert”, which is the first level of restriction under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap), although the city has reached the highest level of red alert positive rate requirement, which requires a complete lockdown.

Under the “red alert”, a full curfew will be implemented, the Delhi Metro will be closed, only important private offices will be allowed to open, and shopping centers will be closed. Basic stores in the city will be allowed to operate, and only independent non-basic stores will be allowed to operate between 10 am and 6 pm.

Complete News Source : Hindustan Times