Supreme Court staff tests positive for coronavirus even as infection doubling rate increases

Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said, "For the last 14 days, our doubling rate is 8.7, while for the last 7 days, it is 10.2 days. In the last 3 days, it has been roughly 10.9. No fresh cases have been reported in 80 districts across the country since the last 7 days."

New Delhi: A staffer of the Supreme Court tested positive for coronavirus on Monday, triggering alarm bells in the highest court of the country.

The employee, working with the judicial section of the apex court, was on duty on April 16 and had come in contact with two apex court registrars, who have been advised self-quarantine as a precautionary measure, a source said.

He suffered fever for two days after coming for work on April 16 and tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.

He has been admitted to a government hospital and is undergoing treatment, the source said, adding that as per standard protocol, contact tracing of the staffer will be done.

It is the first such case of a Supreme Court staffer testing positive. The apex court had restricted its functioning since March 23 and is hearing matters involving extreme urgency through video conferencing.

Meanwhile, in India, COVID-19 cases have risen to 29,435. 934 patients have died so far due to the disease in India, according to the health ministry.

Briefing the media, Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said, "For the last 14 days, our doubling rate is 8.7, while for the last 7 days, it is 10.2 days. In the last 3 days, it has been roughly 10.9. No fresh cases have been reported in 80 districts across the country since the last 7 days."

"In 47 districts, no case has been reported in the last 14 days, while 39 districts have not reported a case since the last 21 days. 17 districts have not reported a case for the last 28 days. Meanwhile, we have now over 100 PPE manufacturers in the country. We have also started producing ventilators in India," added the health minister.