Chief Minister Hemant Soren could be retested for Covid-19 if contact tracing of two Covid-infected patients in the chief minister's office and residence lead to Soren, health officials said on Saturday.
“A dedicated team is working on contact tracing. If there is a requirement, then we may retest the CM for Covid,” said Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni.
Driver of Soren's spouse, Kalpana Soren and a personal secretary ranked official from the chief minister's office tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday, triggering fear of transmission among staff in the CM's residence and office, officials said.
The Chief Minister had decided to quarantine himself at home as a precautionary measure last month. Soren and 23 others from his residence, including family members and staff, were tested for Covid-19 on July 11 after two members of the Jharkhand legislative Assembly were found infected. However, their test results came negative. Now, with more people associated with the CM's office and residence testing positive, the CM could again come under Covid scanner depending on the contact tracing of the patients, health officials said.
Several politicians in Jharkhand have come under Covid scanner in the past one month and many of them were found infected. State drinking water and sanitation minister Mithilesh Thakur and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Tundi legislator Mathura Mahto were found Covid-positive last month. Besides, Ranchi MLA CP Singh, former Urban Development Minister of Jharkhand, is also undergoing treatment for Covid infection.
Health workers also collected swab samples of incarcerated Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad after two of his attendants at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) tested Covid positive in July. Prasad, however, tested negative.
Besides the political fraternity, the police department in Jharkhand is struggling to check the spread of virus among cops.
More than 200 policemen were found infected so far in Jharkhand and one of them, a 50-year-old sub-inspector from Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP), died.
The health department on Friday launched a three-day Covid-testing drive during which it plans to test at least 1 lakh people. However, the department managed to test only 8198 people on Friday, which means the Government has to test more than 90,000 people in two days to achieve its target.