Coronavirus: Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren goes into home quarantine

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has quarantined himself at his Ranchi residence after a cabinet minister whom he had met recently tested positive for Covid-19, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The chief minister had recently come in contact with Drinking and Sanitation Minister Mithilesh Thakur who has tested positive for Covid-19. Soren has also urged staff members of the Chief Minister's Office to go into home quarantine, it said.

Soren has wished a speedy recovery of Thakur and another Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA Mathura Mahato, who tested positive for the disease on Tuesday, the statement said.

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The chief minister's samples are expected to be tested during the day, officials said.

Both Thakur and Mahato have been admitted to the Covid-19 ward of the state-run Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) here and their contacts are being traced, they said.

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Thakur is the first minister in Soren's cabinet to have tested positive for Covid-19.

Jharkhand has reported 3,018 Covid-19 cases till Tuesday night, of which, 892 are active and 22 patients have died.