Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tests positive for Covid-19

A team of doctors have examined him and recommended he rest for a few days. The minister is currently under home quarantine with mild symptoms, according to an official release.

Singh was scheduled to attend the Indian Air Force Commanders’ conference in the national capital today but had to skip it after being tested positive for the virus, the statement said.

On Wednesday he attended the Army Commanders conference during which he was accompanied by Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande and other senior Army officers. He practised firing on small arms firing simulator. 

Fresh 12,591 Covid-19 infections were recorded across the country in the last 24 hours, marking a significant jump from Wednesday’s tally of 10,542 cases, the Union health ministry said on Thursday.

Earlier last week, the country had seen a declining graph in the past five days from April 15 to April 18 when 11,109 and 7,633 cases were reported respectively. India recorded 7,633 on April 18, 9,111 on April 17, 10,093 on April 16, and 10,753 on April 15.

According to the Union Health Ministry, the country’s active cases increased to 65,286 which was 63,562 yesterday.

Presently recovery rate stands at 98.67 per cent with a daily positivity rate of 5.46 per cent, the Health Ministry stated further in its release.

The states of Kerala, Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Rajasthan found a mention as these states are witnessing a rapid rise in Covid -19 cases.