Ministers To Undergo Covid Test Before Meeting PM Modi Amid Rising Cases

Amid the rising Covid-19 cases in India, any minister who is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi must get an RT-PCR test done, sources said.

The decision comes as all BJP functionaries from Delhi, including the Chief Minister, are scheduled to meet the Prime Minister at his residence today evening. All the ministers would need to undergo the Covid-19 test, sources said. Additionally, in cases when PM Modi carries out a rally - all the officials present on the stage will also need to show their RT-PCR test.

India's active coronavirus cases have climbed to 7,121, with Kerala fighting the latest resurgence of infections - followed by Gujarat and Delhi. According to the data available on the official website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 306 new cases were added to the active case count since Friday.

Kerala has recorded 2,223 cases, Gujarat 1,223, Delhi 757, and West Bengal 747. Maharashtra has recorded a total of 615 cases so far, while Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh have reported 459 and 229 cases, respectively. Tamil Nadu has reported 204 cases, Puducherry 10, Haryana 125, Andhra Pradesh 72, Madhya Pradesh 65, and Goa six.

Official data shows a total of 74 deaths since January due to the deadly virus so far, which began in 2020.

Experts have warned that senior citizens are at the highest risk of contracting coronavirus.

While states are on alert, officials have said that the coronavirus cases are mild in nature and there is no need to panic.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said the genome sequencing of samples in the west and south has shown that the new variants are sub-variants of Omicron, a strain that was behind the big Covid wave in India in 2022. These are LF.7, XFG, JN.1 and NB.1.8.1, ICMR chief Dr Rajiv Behl said.