Capt Amarinder Singh tells ministers to get tested for Covid

A health worker collects the swab sample of a woman in Jalandhar.

A day after Cabinet Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa tested positive for Covid-19, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday underwent the test and was found negative, an official spokesperson said.

Capt Amarinder urged all ministers as well as MLAs and department secretaries to get themselves tested for the virus. Two ministers — Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Aruna Chaudhary — also got themselves tested today, while some had undergone the test yesterday. Two Congress MLAs also gave their samples. The reports of all of them are awaited.

During the Cabinet meeting today, Capt Amarinder said all ministers and officials of various departments, especially those who might have come in contact with the IAS/PCS officers who had been tested positive for Covid-19, should get themselves tested.

Bajwa was doing well, he informed the meeting, reiterating the need for extreme caution by all ministers and others engaged in any kind of public dealing.

Capt Amarinder has been calling upon everyone in the state to go for testing at the first sign of symptoms.

Meanwhile, 288 fresh cases and eight more deaths due to Covid were reported in the state. Three deaths each were reported from Amritsar and Jalandhar and one each from Ludhiana and Pathankot. With these deaths, the number of casualties due to Covid-19 has reached 221. Besides, 46 persons are on oxygen support and nine are on ventilator support. Jalandhar is the worst affected district with 92 cases. A DSP and eight employees of the RTA office were among 92 who tested positive.