Rajasthan MLA tests positive for swine flu, attends Assembly without a mask

A day after BJP MLA in Rajasthan was declared positive for the deadly H1N1 virus while sitting in the Rajasthan Assembly, health department officials on Wednesday collected swab samples of 15 MLAs for swine flu test.

While sitting in the Rajasthan Assembly on Tuesday, Amrita Meghwal, Jalore MLA   received a phone call from SMS hospital after her Swab tested positive for H1N1 virus.

The sudden news created ruckus in the house and congress raised fingers on the sheer carelessness of ruling BJP. Following which on Wednesday Health Minister Kalicharan Saraf asked the director (Public Health) to instruct all district chief medical and health officers to screen people who had come into contact with those tested positive for swine flu, according to a release. 

Addressing the media outside the House, Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Narottam Sharma said, "The swab samples of 15 MLAs at Rajasthan Assembly will be sent to a laboratory for confirmation of swine flu". Congress leader Sachin Pilot has criticised the ruling party by tweeting, "Ruling party MLA down with Swine Flu attends assembly without a mask....sheer negligence". 

Earlier in 2017 BJP lost a MLA from Mandalgarh constituency, Kirti Kumari, who succumbed to the swine flu virus. 

According to the Centre's Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme report released on February 11, Rajasthan reported 871 cases of swine flu, the highest in the country; of them 578 from Jaipur alone. The report said 1,022 people tested positive for swine flu in the country this year so far. Jammu and Kashmir stood a poor second in the list with 27 cases.