‘I am fine, not in isolation': Maharashtra Governor confirms testing negative for Covid

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Sunday described some of the news reports appearing in media regarding his health as ‘baseless’. At least 18 staff members at Maharashtra Raj Bhavan tested positive, after which reports emerged that the Governor has been put under isolation.

Koshyari revealed that he has tested negative for the disease and is in perfect health. In wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Governor said he is discharging all his duties with utmost caution.

“I am perfectly alright, and not in self-isolation. I underwent relevant tests, the result of which came in the negative. There are no symptoms of COVID – 19 either. However, considering the COVID-19 situation elsewhere, I am discharging all my official duties strictly adhering to protocols like social distancing, sanitizing, wearing of masks, etc. Reports appearing in a section of the press regarding my health are baseless. I am hale and hearty”.

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A total of 100 tests were conducted, with the full and complete results still awaited; however, 18 of the Maharashtra Raj Bhavan staff members tested positive so far, all of whom were reported to be asymptomatic. The first reported case was that of a junior electrical engineer a few days ago after which all were tested.  As per reports, most people have been hospitalised and are in stable condition now.

Maharashtra death toll crosses 10,000 mark

The death toll due to Coronavirus breached 10,000 in Maharashtra on Saturday while cases jumped by a record 8,139 to reach 2,46,600, data from the state health department stated. The death toll now stands at 10,116. In the last 24 hours, 4,360 COVID-19 patients recovered from the respiratory illness, taking the total to 1,36,985. As of July 11, there are 99,202 active cases in Maharashtra.

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In the state capital Mumbai, 1,284 people were diagnosed with COVID-19 on Saturday, taking the aggregate to 91,745. Meanwhile, the tally in neighbouring Thane district touched 59,487, while that in Palghar stood at 9,343. Pune so far has 37,356 cases while Nagpur has recorded 1,957 cases.

The state health department said the recovery rate in Maharashtra is 55.55% while the case fatality rate is 4.1%. Currently, 6,80,017 people are under home quarantine and 47,376 people in institutional quarantine. Furthermore, out of 12,85,991 laboratory samples, 2,46,600 have been tested positive (19.17%) for COVID-19 until July 11.

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