Punjab CM Amarinder Singh tests negative for COVID-19

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh tested negative for COVID-19 on Wednesday, a day after one of his cabinet colleagues contracted the infection.

Punjab Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Tuesday.

Singh urged all ministers, department secretaries and legislators to get themselves tested for COVID-19. He himself got tested and the result was negative, a spokesperson said.

Two other ministers -- Sukhjinder Randhawa and Aruna Chowdhary -- got themselves tested on Wednesday, while some had undergone the test on Tuesday, the spokesperson said.

Two Congress MLAs also went for testing on Wednesday and their results are awaited.

During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the chief minister said all ministers and officials in various departments, especially those who might have come in contact with the IAS/PCS officers who have been infected with the coronavirus, should get themselves tested.

Singh informed the cabinet that Bajwa was doing well and reiterated the need for extreme caution by all ministers and others engaged in any kind of public dealing.

The chief minister has been calling upon all the people of Punjab to go for testing at the first sign of symptom or on suspicion of COVID-19 infection. Early detection is the way to beat the disease and check fatalities, he stressed.