11 more of Badals’ staff found infected

Muktsar, August 24

With 11 more persons, including security personnel, testing positive for Covid, the residence of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at Badal village has been declared a macro-containment zone.

Earlier, eight persons, including six security personnel, a cook and a telephone operator were found infected.

The number of infected persons at Badal’s residence has reached 19. Test reports of a few employees are yet to come. As of now, samples of nearly 150 persons have been collected. Dr Paramdeep Sandhu, nodal officer for Covid, Muktsar district, said, “The ex-CM’s residence is now a macro-containment zone as the number of positive persons is above 15. Earlier, it was a micro-containment zone.”

A health official said the former CM had been advised home-isolation due to his old age. However, both SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and his wife Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal regularly travelled and held meetings with party workers amid the pandemic. The local health staff have not collected samples of the Badals so far. “I can’t comment on this,” said Dr HN Singh, CMO, Muktsar. — TNS