14 more test Covid +ve at Maharashtra gov residence

Fourteen more personnel at the Raj Bhavan, the residence of Maharashtra governor, have tested corona positive, taking the total number of staffers affected by the virus to 16. However, governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has said he is fine. Meanwhile, the state has recorded 7,827 new cases and 173 deaths due to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours.

The news of Raj Bhavan personnel testing positive for corona has sparked reports expressing concerns about the health of the governor. However, Mr Koshyari denied them saying he is hale and hearty and called the reports ‘baseless’.

The Raj Bhavan issued a statement saying that the government is perfectly alright and not in self-isolation. Mr Koshyari said, “I underwent relevant tests, the result of which came in the negative. There are no symptoms of Covid19 either. However, considering the situation elsewhere, I am discharging all my official duties strictly adhering to protocols like social distancing, sanitizing, wearing of masks etc.”

According to officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the civic body had asked the officials and staffers at Raj Bhavan to get themselves tested for coronavirus on the backdrop of two Covid-19 patients being found at the governor’s residence few days back.

Accordingly, 100 employees were tested, of which 14 have been found corona positive.

“The staffers at Raj Bhavan who tested positive have been quarantined in their residential premises at Raj Bhavan. If the Raj Bhavan administration asks for an institutional quarantine, the civic body would shift them to the quarantine facility,” said the BMC official.