Uttar Pradesh minister to undergo corona test after hospital visit

After UP Finance and Medical Education Minister Suresh Khanna unknowingly came into contact with corona patients in Meerut, the minister is expected to undergo a corona test on Thursday.

Lucknow: UP Finance and Medical Education Minister Suresh Khanna will undergo a Corona test on Thursday after he unknowingly came into contact with three Covid-19 patients during his visit to the Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial (LLRM) Medical College in Meerut on Monday.

The minister has already quarantined himself. The reports of the three patients showing them Corona positive, arrived on Wednesday, after which the health authorities pressed the panic button.

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Meerut, Dr Raj Kumar, said that the minister had stayed in the ward for just few minutes and it was unlikely that he may have caught the infection.

"The time period for which the minister and the BJP leaders were in proximity to the said patients was not much. For transmission of infection, at least 15 minutes of exposure is needed," the CMO said.

Along with the minister, local BJP workers had also visited the ward followed by a number of media persons.

The Health Department officials have now said that the symptoms of the all the people, who came in contact with the three infected patients, will be checked for the next five days. "If they show any symptoms in the next five days, they will be sent for testing and treated according to the standard operating procedures," said the CMO.

Khanna will be the second UP minister to undergo a Corona test.

Earlier in March, UP Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh had undergone a Corona test after he attended a party where Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor was present. Kanika had later tested positive for Corona and was hospitalised for a fortnight.

The minister tested negative for Corona though the issue had turned into an ugly controversy. (IANS report)