Rajasthan HC's Chief Justice tests negative for COVID-19; initial report was positive due to technical error, says official

Jaipur: Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court Indrajit Mahanty on Sunday tested negative for coronavirus after a scare that he has contracted the infection. Jaipur Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Narottam Sharma said the first report had come out positive due to a “technical error” in the RT-PCR test. “However, he has tested negative in two subsequent reports," Sharma said, adding that there is a possibility of an error cropping up due to mistakes by the health staff or technical issues. The laboratory technique, called Real Time-Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction, is widely used in the diagnosis of genetic diseases and considered more reliable due to its sensitivity. Sharma said the health staff has been asked to remain vigilant with utmost accuracy. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday had expressed concern after the Chief Justice tested positive for the infection. He had wished him speedy recovery in a tweet. The registrar general of the high court in a notice said all persons concerned are requested to get themselves tested for COVID-19. The notice, however, did not mention the High Court chief justice. Two days ago, six people tested positive for COVID-19 in the high court. The notice had said in view of recent results of COVID-19 tests conducted in the Rajasthan High Court, the office work will remain suspended from 17 to 19 August to 19 for COVID-19 testing. The health authorities have already taken 5,000 samples from the high court and district courts, officials said, adding the sampling will continue in coming days. The testing facility is available at the Rajasthan High Court in Jaipur during the three-day period, the notice added.