Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has tested positive for COVID-19 and is quarantining at home.
“I have tested positive for Corona today with mild symptoms. I am under home quarantine. I request everyone who have recently come in my contact to isolate themselves and get tested,” he tweeted.
The defence minister’s positive test comes as Delhi records around 68,000 new cases.
Singh, 70, was vaccinated against COVID-19 in March 2021. However, the Omicron variant has been known to evade the immunity generated by two doses of existing vaccines.
The health ministry on Monday said that the Omicron variant was 70 times more transmissible in nature, but that it was a “milder infection” that requires home isolation and lesser hospitalisation.
Among active cases, five-10 per cent of patients require hospitalisation at present, compared to 20-23 per cent in the second wave.
Singh is the latest politician to test positive for the virus. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday tested negative, less than a week after contracting the virus.