Punjab CM opts for self-isolation after 2 Congress MLAs test positive

Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh has quarantined himself after two Congress MLAs who met him during the Vidhan Sabha session tested positive for COVID-19. MLAs Kulbir Singh Zira and Nirmal Singh got tested for the disease after the one-day monsoon session.

Chandigarh:Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said on Friday evening that he would be going into seven-day isolation after meeting two Covid-19 positive Congress MLAs during the one-day session of the Vidhan Sabha. An announcement was made by the Chief Minister's Media Advisor Raveen Thukral on Twitter.

"Punjab chief minister @capt_amarinder has decided to go into 7-day self-quarantine, as per government protocol and the advice of his doctors, after two MLAs who met him in the Vidhan Sabha tested positive for #COVID19," tweeted Raveen Thukral, the media advisor to the chief minister.

Ruling party legislators Kulbir Singh Zira and Nirmal Singh Shutrana had attended the session on Friday and were later tested positive for coronavirus.

While Shutrana had not interacted much with other members in the House and had left the session after 15 minutes of its start, Zira was talking with the ministers and legislators and was also in close vicinity with the CM.

Panic gripped all 55 MLAs and Ministers, besides the staff of the Vidhan Sabha, after the reports of the two MLAs testing positive spread. The health authorities have expressed concern over the increasing Covid-19 cases and advised people to adhere to health protocols.

READ: Punjab: AAP MLAs attend assembly session in PPE kits

Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said they were on the job, tracing all those who had interacted with these two MLAs, both inside and outside the house.

With these two, the total number of legislators having tested positive for Covid-19 reached 32.

Yesterday, Punjab Assembly met under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic and paid tributes to the soldiers killed in Ladakh's Galwan valley, the COVID warriors and Olympian Balbir Singh Senior. The12th session of the 15th Punjab Assembly began at 11 am with strict protocols in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. AAP MLAs attended the Assembly session wearing PPE kits. However, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) legislators were not present in the House and skipped the session owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state has recorded 15,608 active COVID-19 cases and the death toll is pegged at 1256. A total of 30,972 patients have been cured and discharged till date. The Administration on Friday decided to lift its weekend curfew orders Friday, allowing shops and malls to remain open on Saturdays and Sundays.

With agency inputs