Mumbai: NCP Chief Sharad Pawar has tested negative for the novel coronavirus, informed State Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Monday.
Meanwhile, two security guards at Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar’s residence Silver Oak bungalow in Mumbai have tested positive for Covid-19. They both are from the security personnel fleet deployed for Sharad Pawar’s protection.
The guards who have tested positive for Covid-19 were not in close contact with Sharad Pawar. Pawar has returned to Mumbai after his recent tour of Pune district. As a precautionary measure, swab samples of a total of six security guards were taken for conducting tests for Covid-19. Of these six, two security guards were found to have got infected by the coronavirus. Tracing of high risk and close contacts has been started and reports of their tests are still awaited. Other precautionary measures have also been taken.
Earlier, police personnel on duty at the Matoshree bungalow, residence of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, had been identified as Covid-19 positive. Uddhav’s wife, Rashmi Thackeray’s security guard was also infected with coronavirus.
Meanwhile, in Mumbai, Covid-19 outbreak came under control in August. The infection positivity rate in 16 of the 24 wards has come down to less than 1 per cent. Also, in the last 15 days, about 2.62 lakh citizens have been spared from the containment zones demarcated by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
According to the data released by the BMC, as on August 1, about 41 lakh 77 thousand 397 citizens were living in the containment zones which consisted mostly of slums and chawls. Meanwhile, 8 lakh 98 thousand 418 citizens were living in buildings sealed by the BMC officials as Covid-19 prevalence was found to be more in these localities.
However, as of August 15, this number has come down to 48 lakh 62 thousand 309, of which 7.5 lakh citizens are living in the sealed buildings. There are restrictions imposed on the daily activities of these 48.13 lakh citizens.
