Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan Tests Positive for Covid-19, Asks His Contacts to Get Tested

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said he has tested positive for the coronavirus infection.

Chouhan appealed to all those who came in contact with him to undergo testing for the disease and quarantine themselves. The CM said he would undergo treatment at the Chirayu Hospital, where he underwent all the necessary tests and their results were normal, as per the doctors treating him. The statement was issued by the hospital on Saturday night.

Chouhan had recently travelled to Lucknow, to attend the funeral of Governor Lalji Tandon, along with Co-operative minister Arvind Bhadauria who had later tested positive.

“I tried my best to avoid infection but people used to meet me for various purposes,” said Chouhan in a tweet in Hindi. He also asked the public to ensure all precautions as any "lax behavior" could be an invitation to the deadly disease. However, he said there was no need to panic.

He said he had been chairing meetings on the Covid-19 response in the state since March 25, and that he would attempt to attend the meetings through video conferencing now. Chouhan also said that in his absence, the meeting to review the coronavirus situation will be held by Home Minister Narottam Mishra, Urban Development and Administration Minister Bhupendra Singh, Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang and Health Minister Prabhuram Choudhary.

Several MLAs from Congress and BJP already have tested positive for the disease, even as MP assembly session was postponed in the wake of Covid-19. Medical staff are geared to test senior officials of the Chief Minister's House and others who were in touch with him.

“The Chief Minister has decided to get himself treated at Chirayu Hospital and has directed administration that others should not be hassled due to his presence in the hospital,” said BJP media cell in-charge Lokendra Parashar.

Meanwhile, the state capital Bhopal is in the midst of a massive Covid-19 outbreak and has been put under lockdown for ten days beginning from the evening of July 24. On Friday, the city had reported total 131 fresh cases, taking the total tally to 4,800 cases including 148 deaths.

The brother and sister of Indore BJP MP Shankar Lalwani have also tested positive for the disease.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath also tweeted in light of the incident, wishing Chouhan a speedy recovery from the disease.

The number of coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh went up to 26,210 on Saturday. The state has also seen 791 deaths since the coronavirus outbreak began in India.