IAS officer among nine test positive for coronavirus in MP

Bhopal/Indore: An IAS officer is among nine persons who have tested positive for coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh since Thursday night, taking the state’s tally to 120, a senior health official said on Friday.

The 2011-batch IAS officer is posted in the health department in Bhopal and has a history of travelling outside Madhya Pradesh in recent times, he said.

He developed symptoms similar to those found in COVID-19 patients and was tested for the viral infection, the official said.

His first report came positive, the official confirmed but added, “We are waiting for his second test report.”

Among the other new cases, seven were reported from Indore and one from Chhindwara.

The Chhindwara patient is a 36-year-old man who became the first coronavirus positive case in the district, Sub- Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Atul Singh said.

He works in a government department in Indore and came to Chhindwara on March 19 before the lockdown, in force since March 25 to stem the spread of the deadly virus, he said.

The patient has been admitted in the Chhindwara district hospitals isolation ward and people he came in contact with are being quarantined, the SDM said.

People in areas which he visited will be screened, he said.

Seven fresh coronavirus positive cases were reported from Indore, taking the total number of infected persons in the city to 89, a health official said.

Out of the total 120 coronavirus cases recorded so far (health department has confirmed 119), 89 have been reported from Indore, eight each from Jabalpur and Bhopal, six from Ujjain, two each in Morena, Shivpuri and Gwalior and one each from Khargone and Chhindwara, officials said.

Eight COVID-19 patients have so far died in the state – five from Indore, two from Ujjain and one from Khargone, they added.