Two AAP volunteers test positive for COVID-19 in Mehrauli

Two AAP volunteers engaged in food distribution at Delhi government-run centres in Mehrauli tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, prompting the district administration to declare several localities in the city as containment zones.

A senior district official said the two Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) volunteers, engaged by Mehrauli MLA Naresh Yadav, were involved in distributing food to thousands of people.

The two COVID-19 cases have been traced to Jamila Masjid Baoli in Mehrauli area of South Delhi, an order issued by Mehrauli SDM Sonalika Jiwani said.

According to another official, around 6,000 people will be put under containment zones. He said the district administration will launch an exercise of testing all high-risk contacts and isolating suspects.

"The administration conducted COVID-19 tests on three persons and out of them, two tested positive. The two were engaged in food distribution at food centres set up in view of lockdown," he said.

Reacting to the development, AAP MLA Naresh Yadav said three party volunteers were involved in food distribution around the Dargah and Pehelwan Dhabha area in Mehrauli. He said the volunteers were provided masks and gloves.

"They did not have any symptoms. One of them had fever, so we randomly checked them and quarantined them, he said.

"Out of the three volunteers, two have come out to be positive, while one is negative, even though all of them were working together," Yadav said.

Meanwhile, the Mehrauli administration has put many localities under the containment zones.

Nirankari Gali, Nakshtra Gali, Nala Boring Gali, Rawan Wali Gali, Jamila Masjid Baoli, Dargah Gurudwara Gali, Thane Wali Gali and Terminal Wali Gali have been put under containment zones, the order said.

"Jamila Masjid Baoli is a densely populated area and there is high potential for local transmission that may lead to clustering of cases in time and space, epidemiologically linked to the positive case," the order stated.

Recently, a pizza delivery agent was found to be infected with coronavirus in the city following which the administration put 72 families under quarantine.

On Sunday, the national capital reported 293 fresh COVID-19 cases, the second highest in a day, taking the tally of such cases in the city to 2,918.