At least five ward councillors in East Delhi Municipal Corporation have tested positive for COVID-19, sources said on Thursday. Also, East Delhi Mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal on Wednesday was diagnosed with coronavirus infection, and is currently under home isolation.
Delhi is currently reporting a fresh surge in coronavirus cases, amid a scare of the latest Omicron variant, which is highly transmissible. "As of now, five EDMC councillors have tested positive for Covid," a source said. Mayor Aggarwal, however, said the number could be a bit higher, as many other councillors have also "reported sick" or " have symptoms".
"As a councillor or any other public figure, we owe responsibility to the people who elect us. And, as a responsible citizen, if any councillor is Covid positive, he or she must make that information public, for safety of themselves and others, including those who may have come in contact with them in the past few days," the mayor told PTI.
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Several public figures, including politicians, ministers have tested positive for Covid in the span of the last few days. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on January 4 had tweeted that he had tested positive for coronavirus infection. The national capital and the country at large is staring at an imminent third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Delhi is expected to record 14,000 fresh Covid cases on Thursday, Health Minister Satyendar Jain told reporters here. The minister also said the city is in a comfortable position in terms of hospital bed occupancy and there is no need for a lockdown right now.
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On Wednesday, 10,665 cases with a positivity rate of 11.88 per cent, and eight deaths were recorded in the city. Mayor Aggarwal on Wednesday had said that this was the second time he has been diagnosed with a coronavirus infection, the last time being in June 2020. "I had a slight fever and sore throat, day before yesterday. Since, I had a few symptoms, I decided to get myself tested yesterday, and my report came positive for Covid," 59-year-old Aggarwal told PTI on Wednesday. "I have self-isolated and due to my condition, did not attend the special session of the EDMC House today to discuss the budget," he had said, adding, he has consulted a doctor to monitor his condition.
The East Delhi mayor, also a senior BJP leader, had last December gone to Varanasi to attend an all-India mayor's conference. "Corona cases have been rising, and we all have to be very careful, amid this surge," he said. "In June 2020, I was admitted in a private hospital for eight days, but thankfully had not needed oxygen support or ventilator support," Aggarwal recalled.
-With PTI Inputs
