Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot tests positive for COVID

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who along with his wife Sunita tested COVID-19 positive would work from isolation. The Chief Minister tested positive on Wednesday and he himself tweeted: “On getting the Covid test I tested positive. But am feeling fine and have no symptoms of corona, but I have gone in isolation."

The Chief Minister took the first dose of the vaccine in March.

The Chief Minister has been working from home and was very active and would hold virtual conferences for the past three-four months. He set an example for the other Chief Ministers by adopting the virtual mode for administration.

Gehlot was the first Chief Minister to impose lockdown in the state and set a benchmark for lockdown administration that was followed by other states.

When the second strain came, Gehlot took the bold decision to impose a statewide lockdown till May 3.

But as things have not improved and the surge of new patients continues, it is likely that the Gehlot government may extend the lockdown till May 15.

Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s son Dushyant Singh, who is a three-time MP from Jhalawar has also tested positive. BJP MLA and a member of the state finance commission, Ashok Lahoti have also tested positive.

Giriraj Singh Lotwara, the leader of the Rajput community and the president of Rajput Sabha, who was a BJP activist passed away on Thursday due to COVID-19.

Senior journalist Anila Varshney, who was earlier associated with 'Rajasthan Patrika' succumbed to corona on Wednesday at the Sawai Man Singh hospital. He was also suffering from cancer. He was 71.

In the past 24 hours in the state 16,613 new cases have been reported and 120 persons died. However, the recovery rate is encouraging and in the past 24 hours 8303 persons recovered from corona.

In the past three days, the death toll due to corona increased three times. The total number of infected persons currently stands at 1.12 lakh.

The situation in major cities like Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur, and Bikaner is reportedly worsening.