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Punjab governor tests positive for Covid, attended school event hours before
While an earlier press statement by the Chandigarh administration had mentioned that the governor tested positive on Thursday, later it was changed to Friday evening in another release
Punjab governor and UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday evening.
A UT spokesperson said, “He is not showing any serious symptoms and is recuperating at his official residence. It is requested that all those who have come in contact with him should isolate and get themselves tested.”
According to UT officials, Purohit was tested for Covid on Thursday. But while the result was awaited, the governor attended the inauguration of a Model United Nations (MUN) organised by Bhavan Vidyalaya, Chandigarh, at Tagore Theatre, on Friday morning.
Pictures of the event showed the governor without a face mask, even though he had undergone a Covid test the day before, raising questions over whether he should have skipped the event altogether.
Purohit was seen standing close to other dignitaries at the event, including RK Saboo, chairman, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Chandigarh Kendra.
While an earlier press statement by the UT had mentioned that the governor tested positive on Thursday, later it was changed to Friday evening in another release.
The three-day MUN is expected to see the participation of around 400 students from 56 schools in both India and abroad. It is being held physically this year after being conducted virtually for the past two years.
Kendra’s senior principal and director education Vineeta Arora said, “We had no prior information about the governor’s Covid test. The governor and other dignitaries were wearing masks, but took them off while speaking.”
She added that the governor did not interact closely with any student and was surrounded by his security team. “Decisions on the next steps after the governor tested positive will be taken after a meeting with the senior management,” Arora said.
Tricity’s daily Covid cases dip to 286
As many as 286 people tested positive for Covid-19 in the tricity on Friday, down from 363 on Thursday.
Chandigarh recorded 126 cases, against 139 the day before. Another 83 cases were detected in Mohali, a major dip from 143 the previous day. Similarly, Panchkula’s cases also dropped from 81 to 77.
Also, no Covid-related death was reported in the tricity for the second consecutive day.
Two people each have died in Mohali and Chandigarh since the beginning of August.
Meanwhile, after staying over 1,900 for the past eight days, tricity’s active caseload decreased to 1,864 on Friday.
However, as many as 879 people are still infected in Chandigarh, 659 in Mohali and 326 in Panchkula.
At 10.1%, Panchkula had the highest daily positivity rate on Friday, followed by Chandigarh with 8.75% and Mohali with 8.6%.
