Coronavirus: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and three Cabinet ministers are under quarantine. (File)

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and three other ministers of his Cabinet have been quarantined after they came in contact with Tourism minister Satpal Maharaj who tested positive for Coronavirus on Sunday. Besides CM Rawat, the three ministers are Harak Singh Rawat, Madan Kaushik and Subodh Uniyal.

The Chief Minister and two Cabinet ministers were placed under quarantine after Maharaj had attended a Cabinet meeting presided over by Rawat. Friday’s Cabinet meeting was also attended by senior bureaucrats including chief secretary and health secretary at the state secretariat.

Besides Satpal Maharaj, his wife, two sons and daughters-in-law have also tested positive for the virus. Satpal Maharaj, his wife and 21 other people including family members, staff and his followers staying in the same household also tested positive.

As many as 17 members of Satpal Maharaj’s staff have also tested positive for Covid infection.

While Madan is the government spokesperson, Harak is in charge of the forest portfolio. Subodh Uniyal handles the Agriculture portfolio.

The state health department said there was no need for the ministers and officials who attended Friday’s meeting to isolate themselves, going by the Centre’s guidelines.

“The ministers and officials fall into the category of low risk contacts as they were not in close contact with Satpal Maharaj. They can function in a normal way and there is no need to quarantine them,” state Health Secretary Amit Negi said.

A total of 41 people including Maharaj and others who came in contact with his wife, were put in quarantine and tested for the virus. Luckily, the remaining have tested negative.

Meanwhile, a coronavirus patient died as the number of people testing positive for the infection rose to 929 with 23 fresh cases in Uttarakhand. The virus has claimed six lives in the state.