Two more IAS officers test positive for Corona in Bhopal, figure goes up to three in MP

Correspondent

NewsBits.in

BHOPAL: Two IAS officers have tested positive for Corona in Bhopal.

Now three top officials of the health department including Principal Secretary and Director of Health, are Corona positive. The third is  an Additional Director rank officer.

A state government's official press release has also confirmed that the reports are positive. Earlier, IAS officer Dr J Vijay Kumar who is Director, posted in the Directorate of Health Services, had tested positive as well.

Now, Principal Secretary (Health) Pallavi Jain Govil, who is also an IAS officer, has been tested positive. The third senior officer is Veena Sinha, Additional Director Health. She is state services officer (not an IAS official). Both Govil and Sinha have been admitted to AIIMS in Bhopal. 

This again highlights the risk of officials of health department and doctors who are overseeing the treatment, interacting with health workers and patients, as well as visiting hospitals and places where they are more vulnerable. This has affected the top echelons of the health services in MP.

12 IAS officers are in home quarantine and Chief Secretary ha also sent his sample for testing. This is because they had held meetings with these three officers. Bhopal has 17 coronavirus cases now. Today, 137 more samples have been taken. The helpline (WhatsApp) has received 677 complaints.

Efforts towards containment and sanitizing apart from steps to quarantine, are being taken on a war footing. This is even more worrying because top health officials are among those tested positive and they had attended high-level meetings. Apart from officers, the staff and family members of the officials are also in seclusion.