Arvind Kejriwal, 51, had been unwell since Sunday afternoon and hasn’t met anyone since then. He has isolated himself at his official home in Delhi.
New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal has gone into self-quarantine and will take a coronavirus test after complaints of mild fever and a sore throat, Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said today. The Chief Minister has cancelled all his meetings.
Mr Kejriwal, 51, had been unwell since Sunday afternoon and hasn’t met anyone since then. He has isolated himself at his official home in Delhi.
“He is running a fever and has a sore throat, which happen to be Covid symptoms. So doctors have advised him to take a test tomorrow,” AAP MLA Raghav Chadha told NDTV, describing Mr Kejriwal as a frontline COVID-19 warrior who had put himself at risk in Delhi’s virus fight.
Mr Kejriwal is diabetic, which exacerbates concerns, Mr Chaddha said. “We are all worried, but Mr Kejriwal is a fighter. He hasn’t slept very well either, ” the MLA said.
“The symptoms started showing since yesterday afternoon. He hasn’t interacted with anyone since then. There were largely meetings over the last few days over video. But he did come in direct contact with members of the party, cabinet, bureaucrats,” Mr Chadha said.
AAP leaders and many others tweeted get-well-soon wishes for Mr Kejriwal.
“Our beloved Arvind Kejriwal has mild fever and sore throat since yesterday and is on self-isolation on doctors’ advice. Tomorrow he will get a Covid-19 test at 9 am. We all pray for your good health,” posted AAP MLA Jarnail Singh.
On Sunday, the Chief Minister addressed a very brief digital press conference at noon to announce a new policy of reserving hospital beds for residents of Delhi. He was seen wearing a mask.
Amid complaints of coronavirus patients or suspected patients being denied hospital beds, Mr Kejriwal declared that hospitals run by the Delhi government and some private hospitals would be reserved only for residents of the capital.
He also said Delhi would reopen its borders, which were sealed in the first place “thinking that our hospitals will be flooded with people from other states”.
Delhi has seen a spurt in COVID-19 cases and over 1,000 new cases daily for the past few days. There are over 27,600 cases in the capital.
