Amit Shah says he has tested negative for Covid-19

Twelve days after contracting the disease, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Friday said he has tested negative for the coronavirus. In a Hindi tweet, he wrote, “Today my corona test report has come negative. I thank God and at the moment I express my heartfelt gratitude to all those who have blessed me and my family by wishing me well. Will stay in home isolation for a few more days on the advice of doctors.”

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday went under quarantine after several officials, including Malappuram SP, District Collector, associated with the Kozhikode air crash rescue operation, tested positive for Covid-19. Malappuram SP U Abdul Karim and DC K Gopalakrishnan are in hospital and undergoing treatment for the disease.

The Covid-19 tally in India crossed the 2.4 million mark after 65,553 fresh cases were registered within a span of 24 hours. On Friday, the overall tally rose to 2,461,190 while the death toll stood at 48,040. The recovery rate, however, improved to 70.77 per cent Thursday with the total number of patients recuperating from the virus reaching nearly 17 lakh, while the case fatality rate has further declined to 1.96 per cent, the Union health ministry said.

Globally, over 20 million people have been infected with the virus, with the most number of cases from the United States, followed by Brazil and India. The United States government has entered into a $1.525 billion deal with Moderna, a US-based biotech company, for securing the supply of 100 million doses of the novel Coronavirus vaccine that the company is developing.

Indian express