CHANDIGARH DC MANDIP SINGH BRAR TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID
CHANDIGARH: Chandigarh deputy commissioner Mandip Singh Brar has tested positive for Covid-19.
Brar is the second senior Union Territory official after UT finance secretary Ajoy Kumar Sinha to test positive for coronavirus infection. Sinha tested positive on Sunday.
After Brar developed symptoms on Monday, he got tested for coronavirus on Tuesday. He has quarantined himself at his residence.
Brar had met Sinha on Thursday at an official meeting at the UT Secretariat, Sector 9. A superintendent in the DC office had also tested positive last week, consequently, the DC office was sealed for two days for sanitisation.
Brar had attended the war room review meeting on Monday at the UT Secretariat in which UT adviser Manoj
Parida, home secretary Arun Kumar Gupta and municipal corporation (MC) commissioner KK Yadav were present.
Parida has also got himself tested. He confirmed his sample was found to be negative.
Parida had also attended a meeting with Sinha at Raj Bhawan on Friday. After Sinha tested positive, Punjab governor and UT administrator VPS Badnore had gone into self-isolation on Monday.
After UT administrator VP Singh Badnore’s principal secretary JM Balamurugan tested positive on August 9, a two-day exercise of rapid antigen testing was carried out at Raj Bhawan. Besides senior UT officials, more than 300 people, including security personnel, were tested. Both Badnore and Parida had tested negative at that time.
Three officials were reported positive in Parida’s office in the UT Secretariat.
WAR ROOM REVIEW MEETING TO CONTINUE
Parida said the war room review meeting will continue to take place.
In the next review meeting, the administration is likely to take a call on allowing salons to open on weekends and remain closed on Tuesday instead.
Scrapping of odd-even system for congested markets will also be under consideration besides opening of liquor stores on weekends.