CM Vijay Rupani tests COVID+ day after he fainted at Gujarat rally

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has tested positive for COVID-19, said the hospital where he was admitted on Sunday after he fainted while addressing a rally.

According to a bulletin issued by the hospital on Monday, Rupani’s sample was collected on Sunday night and sent for RT-PCR test which has come out positive for coronavirus. He has mild symptoms, it added.

On Sunday, Rupani, 64, fainted on stage while delivering a speech at a rally in Nizampura area of Vadodara for the upcoming civic polls in the state. He was given first aid and then flown to Ahmedabad and admitted in a hospital.

Earlier on Monday, officials said his test reports are normal but he would be kept under observation in the hospital for 24 hours. “Rupaniji fainted due to tiredness and dehydration. We have done a thorough check-up and all his tests are normal,” Dr RK Patel from the U N Mehta Hospital, where the chief minister is admitted, told reporters.

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said that though Rupani is fine, he would be kept under observation for 24 hours. According to BJP leader Bharat Danger, Rupani had been unwell for two days, but still he preferred to continue with back to back rallies in the weekend instead of cancelling them.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi enquired about Rupani’s health over phone, a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office said. Modi told Rupani to get himself thoroughly checked and to take proper rest, it said.

This was Rupani’s third political rally during the day in Vadodara. Elections to six municipal corporations, including Vadodara, will be held on February 21, while those for various other municipalities, districts and taluka panchayats will be held on February 28.