In a shocking piece of news, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has on Tuesday - January 4 announced that he had tested positive for the Covid-19 viral infection and that he has isolated himself at his residence. The development has come when the national capital has been witnessing a sharp rise in the Covid-19 cases with the emergence of the Omicron variant. As the variant is pacing its spread rapidly, the packed population poses a huge challenge to the Delhi government in curbing the spread. 

Arvind Kejriwal took to social media and announced the shocking news that he had contracted the pandemic. By citing that he had developed mild symptoms, he had advised everyone who had come in contact with him to get tested. He wrote, "I have tested positive for Covid. Mild symptoms. Have isolated myself at home. Those who came in touch wid me in last few days, kindly isolate urself and get urself tested." His announcement has come a day after he had an extensive tour in the poll-bounding states. 

According to reports, Kejriwal had a busy start to the New Year as he had been addressing massive rallies in the campaign trail of his Aam Aadmi Party in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttarakhand as these three states will go for the assembly polls in the coming months. He had on Monday addressed his party's Nav Parivartan Yatra at Parade Ground in Dehradun in Uttarakhand ahead of the polls. 

The Delhi Chief Minister was also scheduled to attend a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Tuesday over the Covid-19 situation in the national capital. It has been reported that the Omicron variant cases have been soaring in Delhi along with the fresh cases of the pandemic as the twin whammies had put the Delhi residents on thin ice and the government has also been mulling to bringing back the restrictions and taking measures to expedite the vaccination drive. 

On Monday, the Delhi Health Department has said that the city has reported 4,099 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the positivity rate in the national capital to 6.46 per cent, one of the highest in the country. The active cases in the city have gone to 10,986 and the total tally of Covid-19 cases stands at 14,58,220. Delhi had recorded one Covid-19 death on Monday and the total death toll is 25,100. Around 6,288 Covid-19 patients are in home isolation. 

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain has said, "As per genome sequencing reports of December 30-31 from three labs, 81 per cent samples were infected with Omicron. Most of the cases are of Omicron." With the positivity rate above 5 per cent for two straight days, Delhi has been facing red alert restrictions in the form of total curfew except for the essential services, a shut down of malls, salons, non-essential shops, more curbs on public transport, weddings, and funerals. 

Kejriwal will be attending the DDMA meeting on Tuesday virtually and the meeting will be chaired by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and would see the participation of other ministers and health officials. Earlier, Kejriwal had urged the people not to panic and said that the situation has been under control with low hospitalizations. On the other hand, BJP has called Kejriwal a super spreader. BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who was with AAP before, has said that Kejriwal is a super spreader of the disease after he tested positive for the pandemic. He attributed his claim to Kejriwal's recent rallies and campaigns in the states where elections will be held soon. 

I have tested positive for Covid. Mild symptoms. Have isolated myself at home. Those who came in touch wid me in last few days, kindly isolate urself and get urself tested

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 4, 2022