UP minister Atul Garg tests positive for Covid-19

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh minister of state for health and family welfare, Atul Garg, is the latest entrant in the list of politicians who have tested positive for novel coronavirus in the state so far since the onset of Covid-19 cases in March. Prior to Garg, his senior in rank, cabinet minister for medical and health Jay Prakash Singh had also tested Covid-19 positive.
The minister whose test report for Covid came positive on Monday night, took to social media on Tuesday to declare the status of his health and to ring caution to those who would have met him in the last few days.

Garg is the ninth UP government minister to get Covid-19 while two of the ministers - Kamal Rani Varun and Chetan Chauhan - have lost their battles with the disease.
Garg, who is 62 years old, wrote on his social media that his sample was tested through RT-PCR on August 15 but his result came negative for the contagious disease.
"My rapid test report which came in at 9 pm on Monday night has confirmed Covid-19. Those who met me between August 16 to August 18, should get themselves tested for the sake of their own health. My associates and myself can be contacted for any help," his official social media account stated.
So far, over 20 state or national level politicians from UP and around 35 of their contacts have been diagnosed with covid-19 since the outbreak in March.
These include nine UP government ministers, a minister rank functionary and five sitting MLAs/MLCs.
Others include leader of Opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary, UP BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh and senior CPI leader Atul Kumar Anjan.
Former minister in SP government Bhure Lal and ex-deputy mayor of Lucknow Abhay Seth, succumbed to novel coronavirus infection.
Some including Chaudhary, Anjan and health minister JP Singh have recovered.