Chandigarh Deputy Commissioner tests positive, Adviser negative

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, August 25

Deputy Commissioner Mandip Singh Brar has tested positive for Covid. The report of UT Adviser Manoj Parida has, however, come negative.

After UT Finance Secretary Ajoy Kumar Sinha, Brar is the second senior official of the UT Administration to test positive for the virus. Both officials have put themselves under home isolation.

A superintendent in the DC office had also tested positive yesterday. Last week, a few employees of the DC office were also found infected and the office was sealed for two days for sanitisation.

In Brar’s absence, MC Commissioner KK Yadav will look after the day-to-day work allocated to the DC. During the leave period of the Finance Secretary, Home Secretary Arun Kumar Gupta will look after his work.

Sinha was asymptomatic and had tested positive on Sunday following which other senior UT officials underwent the Covid test.

Earlier, MC Joint Commissioner Sorabh Arora and three councillors had tested positive. UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore was tested and his report came negative. His Principal Secretary JM Balamurugan and four others were, however, found positive after a two-day exercise of rapid antigen testing carried out at the Raj Bhawan.