Gujarat Congress MLA Tests COVID-19 Positive Hours After Meeting Chief Minister

A Gujarat legislator has tested positive for coronavirus hours after attending a meeting with Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and two other ministers, sources said. Congress MLA Imran Khedawala also attended a press conference, where other MLAs and health officials were present. Sources said the MLA from Jamalpur-Khadia was running a temperature for several days, and had given his samples for testing. But he was out and about before the results came in, sources said. 

He is currently admitted in Gandhinagar's SVP hospital, a facility dedicated to the treatment of COVID-19 patients. 

It is not clear yet how many people who shared space with the MLA will have to be put under precautionary quarantine. The administration is looking into the issue, sources said.

Videos from the meeting with the Chief Minister, which was held this morning, show they followed the rules of social distancing and sat at least a meter apart. Besides the Chief Minister, the meeting was attended by the state ministers for health and home.  

Gujarat so far has 617 cases of coronavirus, of whom 55 patients recovered and 26 died. 

State data analysed by NDTV's Prannoy Roy showed that lockdown has not slowed down the virus in the state, though most other states have managed to leverage it and curb the spread of the infection. 
Gujarat, along with neighbouring Maharashtra, showed the highest rate of infection, where the number of cases has been doubling in roughly two days.

While announcing an extension of the lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the next seven days will be crucial for containing the spread of the virus. During this period, every district will be under scanner as the Centre will check if the lockdown is being properly implemented, he said.