Mahant who shared dais with PM Modi tests positive for Covid

AGRA: Eight days after sharing stage with PM Narendra Modi, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, governor Anandiben Patel and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the bhoomi pujan ceremony for the Ram temple in Ayodhya, head of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust Mahant Nritya Gopal Das tested positive for Covid-19 in Mathura on Thursday, reports Anuja Jaiswal.
“An antigen test for Covid-19 was conducted, which came back positive,” Mathura district magistrate Sarvagya Ram Misra said.Antigen tests, introduced later to complement conventional RT-PCR tests, are considered highly accurate for positive results. A TrueNat test also came back positive. “His oxygen level, however, was saturated,” Misra added. Covid-19 is often accompanied by low oxygen levels in the bloodstream.
The 83-year-old mahant of Mani Ram Das Ki Chavani, Ayodhya’s largest temple, had been at the forefront of the mandir movement for years and appointed head of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas. On Tuesday, Das had arrived in Mathura for the Krishna Janmashtami celebration at the Sri Krishna Janamsthan Temple.On Thursday morning, he started feeling sick. “He had high fever and was breathless. A team of doctors was called for a checkup,” Misra said. When he tested positive, UP CM spoke to eminent cardiologist Dr Naresh Trehan and asked officials to arrange for Das to be moved to a private hospital in Gurgaon, Medanta.