Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal revealed that he had tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday evening and advised those who had been in close contact with him to go into isolation. The news of Kejriwal's diagnosis comes amidst rising Omicron cases in the capital which have promoted a yellow alert under the Graded Response Action Plan.
"I have tested positive for Covid. Mild symptoms. Have isolated myself at home. Those who came in touch wid me in last few days, kindly isolate urself and get urself tested," the AAP chief said on Twitter.
Omicron is now the dominant variant in the capital, as 81% of the samples sent for genome sequencing found evidence of the heavily mutated virus,
Delhi's health minister Satyendar Jain told the state assembly on Monday. Delhi reported 4,099 fresh Covid infections on Monday as the positivity rate surged to 6.46 per cent, both at their highest levels since May 18, when the city logged 4,482 fresh cases at a test positivity rate of 6.89 per cent.
The Chief Minister Was to attend a meeting of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) under Lt. Governor Anil Baijal, along with several officials and experts to discuss the situation today.
Kejriwal has been busy touring several states as part of the Aam Admi Party's bid to garner seats in upcoming assembly elections. He had attended a massive rally in Lucknow where he launched a series of salvos against the ruling Yogi Adityanath government on their handling of Covid-19. In addition to this, Kejriwal made several electoral promises including 300 units of free electricity, 10 lakh jobs and unemployment allowance, according to a report by news agency ANI.
The elections to the 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh are due early this year. After coming to power for the second term in Delhi, Kejriwal is hoping to expand its base in the neighbouring UP. AAP has made similar promises in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa that are also headed for Assembly polls this year.