On the 4th of January 2022, Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to announce that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
I have tested positive for Covid. Mild symptoms. Have isolated myself at home. Those who came in touch wid me in last few days, kindly isolate urself and get urself tested
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 4, 2022
The Delhi CM said that he has isolated himself at home given that he had “mild symptoms”.
Considering only a week of his rally schedules, he has been a part of Vijay Yatra in Chandigarh, Shanti rally in Patiala, had visited a temple in Amritsar and had held rallies in Lucknow and Dehradun since December 27. During the journey and the rallies, the AAP supremo may have come in contact with any number of people, who are now at the risk of getting infected.
While he had been on a rally-run right before he tested positive for COVID, there is a far more serious issue that points towards the fact that Arvind Kejriwal probably knew that he was endangering thousands of lives and still went ahead with his rallies.
Twitter user ‘@BeffitingFacts’ pointed out on Twitter that if he is announcing that he has been tested positive for COVID today, he probably got tested at least a day ago, on the 3rd of January because he had certain symptoms.
However, while he had symptoms, prompting him to get tested for COVID and then testing positive, he had attended a rally in Uttarakhand nonetheless.
your result has come positive means u were tested yesterday or before because u has symptoms and yet you attended a rally yesterday in Uttarakhand putting life of thiusands in risk. You should be booked.@uttarakhandcops
— Facts (@BefittingFacts) January 4, 2022
On the 3rd of January 2022, Arvind Kejriwal attended a massive rally in Uttarakhand. The visuals from the rally were posted by several AAP leaders and the official handles of AAP as well.
AAP Uttarakhand on Twitter had posted a video that showed how thousands of people attended the rally.
परेड ग्राउंड में हुई ऐतिहासिक नवपरिवर्तन रैली का नजारा….
— Aam Aadmi Party Uttarakhand (@AAPUttarakhand) January 3, 2022
उत्तराखंड की जनता बदलाव को तैयार है। pic.twitter.com/VQTAcwt0BB
In all the images and videos shared by AAP, Arvind Kejriwal was seen meeting thousands of people, even holding meetings in closed rooms, without wearing a mask.
अरविंद केजरीवाल जी की नवपरिवर्तन सभा को समर्थन देने पहुंची देवभूमि की जनता का हार्दिक आभार
— Col Ajay Kothiyal, KC, SC, VSM (R.) (@ColAjayKothiyal) January 3, 2022
नवपरिवर्तन सभा से उत्तराखंड की राजनीति का नवीन परिवर्तन सुनिश्चित हो गया है #UttarakhandMangeNavParivartan pic.twitter.com/iyhDZUsJUL
अरविंद केजरीवाल जी की नवपरिवर्तन सभा को समर्थन देने पहुंची देवभूमि की जनता का हार्दिक आभार
— Col Ajay Kothiyal, KC, SC, VSM (R.) (@ColAjayKothiyal) January 3, 2022
नवपरिवर्तन सभा से उत्तराखंड की राजनीति का नवीन परिवर्तन सुनिश्चित हो गया है #UttarakhandMangeNavParivartan pic.twitter.com/iyhDZUsJUL
श्री @ArvindKejriwal जी का बड़ा ऐलान!
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) January 3, 2022
उत्तराखंड के हर Ex-servicemen / जवान को सरकारी नौकरी दी जाएगी।
Retirement के बाद उन्हें नौकरी ढूंढने की जरूरत नहीं, सीधे सरकार में नौकरी देंगे।#UttarakhandMangeNavParivartan pic.twitter.com/ZaYuTWI8pc
As pointed out by BefittingFacts, if Arvind Kejriwal has announced that he has tested positive for COVID on the 4th, he would have surely got tested at least on the 3rd of January. Therefore, it stands to reason that even after knowing that he has mild symptoms and getting tested for COVID, awaiting results, Kejriwal went ahead and held a rally. In fact, he even held closed-door meetings without wearing a mask, thereby endangering every individual that he came in contact with.
Interestingly, only a day ago on the 2nd of January, Kejriwal had delivered a speech to Delhi and people at large, urging them to wear masks and be safe in the face of rising COVID cases.
दिल्ली में कोरोना संक्रमण की वर्तमान स्थिति पर महत्वपूर्ण प्रेस कॉन्फ़्रेंस | LIVE https://t.co/qliIQHzdx0
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 2, 2022
Another worrying point to consider is whether Arvind Kejriwal travelled from Uttarakhand to Delhi while his COVID test results were pending. Now that he has tested positive, it would appear that his lackadaisical attitude after he became aware of symptoms and even getting tested has put thousands of people at risk.
One would only get tested for COVID if they knew they had certain symptoms that hint towards them being positive for COVID, or if they have come in contact with someone who was confirmed COVID positive. Given that Kejriwal had already undergone the test, he should have isolated himself pending the results of the test. Had he tested negative, he could have gone about his daily life. However, even the remote possibility of being tested positive should have got Kejriwal to isolate himself and at least not hold rallies with thousands of people.
Not only that, even after knowing that he could potentially be positive for COVID, given that he had to be tested on the 3rd of Jan to be positive on the 4th of Jan, he went ahead of met several people in closed rooms. While doing so, he was not even wearing a mask. To reiterate, while this happened, he was not even wearing a mask. If indeed there is an explanation for his behaviour, given that he is the Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal should issue a statement explaining when he got tested for COVID, what were his symptoms and why he chose to endanger the lives of other people for petty politics.
Delhi has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 infection, riding on the back of the new coronavirus variant Omicron. Omicron is now the dominant variant in the capital, as 81 per cent of the samples sent for genome sequencing were found to be of the Omicron variant, Delhi’s health minister Satyendar Jain told the state assembly on Monday.
Delhi reported 4,099 fresh Covid infections on Monday as the positivity rate surged to 6.46 per cent, both at their highest levels since May 18, when the city logged 4,482 fresh cases at a test positivity rate of 6.89 per cent.
Only time will tell if Arvind Kejriwal’s irresponsible behaviour will lead to a COVID surge in Uttarakhand as well, given that anybody who came in contact with mask-less Arvind Kejriwal in Uttarakhand now runs to risk of getting infected with COVID.
