A case has been registered against a journalist in Bhopal, who attended the 20 March press conference where Kamal Nath announced his resignation as Madhya Pradesh chief minister, even as his daughter had been advised home quarantine following her return from the UK.
Days after the press conference, the journalist and his daughter had tested positive for the infection. All those who had come in contact with the scribe were asked to go into a 14-day quarantine.
The journalist was booked for violating the government’s preventive orders related to the Coronavirus pandemic.
A case was registered against the journalist on Friday night at Shyamla Hills Police Station under IPC sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), a Bhopal police spokesman said.
The scribe’s daughter a post-graduate law course student, returned to Bhopal from London and lived with her family for two days before testing positive for Coronavirus on March 22. Three days later, the journalist was also found infected, creating a panic among the mediapersons and others who had attended the press conference. However, her mother, brother and those working at their home have tested negative for the virus.
So far, 33 positive Coronavirus cases have been found in the state. Sixteen of them are residents of Indore, eight of Jabalpur, three each of Bhopal and Ujjain, two of Shivpuri and one of Gwalior, the health department officials have said.
Of them, two COVID-19 patients, one each from Indore and Ujjain, have died.
Meanwhile, the number of Coronavirus cases in India has risen to 873 including 19 deaths even as the country is under a 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of the disease.