AAP MLA Atishi was working with the Delhi Ministry of Health to fight the COVID-19 epidemic (File)
New Delhi:
AAP MLA Atishi has tested positive for the new coronavirus. The 39-year-old woman, who represents the Kalkaji constituency in southern Delhi, complained on Tuesday of a mild fever and cough, after which she was tested for the COVID-19 virus. The report came back today and she is now under home quarantine due to her mild symptoms.
She is the third member of her party to test positive for coronavirus; the other two are Vishesh Ravi (Karol Bagh) and Rajkumar Anand (Patel Nagar).
The Prime Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, tweeted to support Atishi today, writing: “Atishi-ji has played an important role in the fight against coronavirus. I hope she will be healthy as soon as possible. “
PAA leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, who is the MP for the Greater Kailash region of Delhi, also tweeted this afternoon, writing: “Get well soon Atishi and Akshay Marathe (an AAP member who has also tested positive for COVID-19), recover quickly from the crown. “
Get well soon @AtishiAAP and @AkshayMarathe , recovering soon from #Crowned
– Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) June 17, 2020
Atishi had worked with the Delhi government’s Ministry of Health to contain the widespread coronavirus epidemic in the nation’s capital. To date, Delhi has reported 44,688 cases, of which 26,351 are active and 1,837 virus-related deaths.
Earlier this week, Delhi’s Minister of Health, Satyendar Jain, was admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital after a high fever and breathing difficulties. Mr. Jain, who is still in the hospital, tested negative but underwent a second test today as he continues to face breathing problems.
Last week, the chief minister also tested negative for COVID-19 after a fever and sore throat. He had isolated himself at his official residence in the city as a precaution.
We feared for Mr. Kejriwal because he is also diabetic; patients with co-morbidities (pre-existing medical conditions) are more at risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus.
Delhi has seen a worrying increase in COVID-19 cases, with more than 1,000 new infections reported daily in the past few days. The total number of cases is approaching 45,000, with 1,859 new cases reported in the past 24 hours.
The last 24 hours also recorded the highest number of deaths in a single day – 93.
Arvind Kejriwal’s government, striving to find hospital beds and medical resources for coronavirus patients, has warned that the number of cases could cross 5.5 lakh by the end of July, which leaves at least 80,000 beds below this target.
The Supreme Court has criticized the Delhi government for its handling of the crisis; today he said, “You can’t threaten the doctors with revealing the truth.” At a previous hearing, he described the situation as “horrible, horrible and pathetic”.
Critics of the Supreme Court urged the Minister of the Interior, Amit Shah, and the Minister of Health, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, to meet with the Delhi government to resolve the problem.
Among the proposals to help Delhi is an increase in the number of beds by providing 500 specially equipped rail cars and an increase in the number of daily tests performed.
