12 staff at NCP chief’s Mumbai home test positive for Covid; Sharad Pawar, kin’s results negative

Twelve staff members working at Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s home Silver Oak in south Mumbai were tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday.

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Following this, Pawar and his family members also underwent antigen tests. Their results came negative. However, as a precautionary measure, Pawar will remain in isolation for the next four days and will not meet people.

“The antigen test report of Pawar sahib, conducted at Breach Candy Hospital, has come negative. He is taking all the precautions. There is no reason to worry,” state health minister Rajesh Tope said, adding that the party would request the senior leader to postpone all his visits for some days.

Of the 12 staffers whose Covid-19 test results came positive on Monday, 10 are members of Pawar’s security detail, while the other two are drivers of his family members. Some other staff members also underwent tests and their reports are awaited.

The security personnel have to ensure that there is a distance maintained between the NCP chief and the people who meet him. Thus, they may have come in contact with someone who was infected while ensuring security, the health minister said.

“We conduct the Covid-19 testing of the family members and staff every 15 days. The samples were taken on Sunday. All the 12 staffers are asymptomatic and have been admitted to the NSCI facility at Worli,” said a close aide of the veteran leader.