Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tests Covid positive, has mild symptoms

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was facing mild symptoms.

"I have tested positive for Corona today with mild symptoms. I am under home quarantine. I request everyone who have recently come in my contact to isolate themselves and get tested," the minister tweeted.

Earlier on Saturday, Singh had addressed a webinar wherein 100 new Sainik schools were provided opportunities for girls to join the Armed Forces.

Delhi on Sunday reported 22,751 new COVID-19 cases - the highest since May 1 last year - as the active tally rose to 60,733. While no lockdown has been imposed in the national capital, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) is reportedly mulling the possibility of further curbs in the city. This would include the closure of dine-in facilities in restaurants and scaling down seating capacity in Metro trains and buses.

Data from the Health Ministry on Monday indicated that more than 1.79 lakh fresh cases had been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the active caseload to over 7.23 lakh. More than 4,000 cases belonging to the Omicron variant have been confirmed to date, with Maharashtra leading the list with 1,216 cases belonging to the heavily mutated variant. The western state also has the highest number of active COVID-19 cases (over two lakh as of Monday morning).