Union Minister Nitin Gadkari tests positive for novel coronavirus; in self-isolation

In an unfortunate development on Wednesday, September 16, Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Revealing that he was feeling weak since Tuesday, Gadkari underwent testing after consulting his doctor. Mentioning that he has isolated himself, the Union Minister stated that he was doing well with the good wishes of the people. Moreover, he appealed to everyone who came in his contact recently to be careful and follow the protocol. 

Gadkari's ministerial colleagues including Amit Shah, Shripad Naik, Dharmendra Pradhan, Kailash Choudhary, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Gajendra Shekhawat and Suresh Angadi were also diagnosed with COVID-19. 

Additionally, leading politicians and constitutional functionaries such as Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Congress MP Karti Chidambaram have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. In mandatory tests carried out before the beginning of the Monsoon session of Parliament, it was revealed that at least 25 MPs- 17 from Lok Sabha and 8 from Rajya Sabha have contracted the virus. This includes BJP parliamentarians such as Meenakshi Lekhi, Anant Kumar Hegde and Parvesh Verma. 

Read: Centre's Team To Visit Jammu In View Of Alarming COVID-19 Situation: Singh

Novel coronavirus crisis

Currently, there are 50,20,359 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in India out of which 39,42,360 patients have recovered while 82,066 fatalities have been reported. There are 9,95,933 active cases in the country. With 82,961 patients recovering in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 recovery rate soared to 78.53%. At present, the recovered cases outnumber active cases by 29,46,427.

Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu contribute 60% of the active cases. Addressing the press on Tuesday, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan refuted the notion that there is a shortage of oxygen. Noting that the current capacity for production of oxygen is slightly more than 6,900 metric tonne, he urged every state to ensure proper inventory management so that oxygen can be replenished in time. 

Read: COVID-19 Crisis: DMK MP Predicts 65 Lakh Cases By End Of Session, Says 'worst Yet To Come'