Delhi govt to start COVID-19 testing for mediapersons from Wednesday: Kejriwal
Karnataka govt. to test Journalists in Bengaluru
New Delhi: The Delhi government will start COVID-19 testing for mediapersons from Wednesday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday, after 53 scribes tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Mumbai.
Addressing the media online, the chief minister said his government has set up a centre where free COVID-19 tests will be conducted on mediapersons.
Journalists are also at the frontline in the battle against COVID-19, he added.
"We have set up a centre. All media houses and journalists will be informed about it. Interested mediapersons can undergo tests at the centre from Wednesday morning," Kejriwal said.
Earlier in the day, responding to a tweet in which a person requested the chief minister to make arrangements for mass COVID-19 testing for mediapersons in Delhi on the lines of Mumbai, Kejriwal said, "Sure. We will do that."
Alarmed over 53 journalists testing positive for COVID-19 in neighbouring Maharashtra, the Karnataka government on Tuesday also decided to conduct a health checkup camp for journalists in Bengaluru.
During a special camp organised at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai on April 16 and 17 for COVID-19 testing of scribes, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had collected the swab samples of 171 mediapersons, including electronic and print media journalists, photographers and cameramen.
"Of the 171 mediapersons, 53 tested positive for coronavirus," BMC spokesperson Vijay Khabale said on Monday, adding that most of those who tested positive are asymptomatic at present.
On Monday, the total number of coronavirus cases rose to 2,081 in Delhi, with 78 fresh cases and two deaths reported in a day.
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Trump rushed out of dinner event after shots fired; one arrested
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump and other top White House officials were evacuated unharmed from the annual dinner of White House correspondents after a man armed with multiple weapons fired shots outside the ballroom of the hotel.
The incident took place at around 8:34 PM local time when dinner was served. At that time, Trump was seen having a conversation with Weijia Jiang, the President of the White House Correspondents' Association, and mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was scheduled to present a show at the marquee event at the Washington Hilton here.
Secret Service officials and other security personnel covered the President, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J D Vance, and the Second Lady Usha Vance, who were seated at the head table, and escorted them out of the ballroom.
Several guests at the dinner, including leaders across the political spectrum, journalists and other invitees, ducked under the table, apparently as a reflex reaction.
Putting up a brave face, President Trump later announced on Truth Social that the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom is all that I heard, and many guests ducked under the table,” a C-SPAN reporter at the dinner said.
Hours later, Trump addressed a press conference at the White House and announced that the security personnel had captured one person who hails from California.
“I heard a noise and sort of thought it was a tray going down. I've heard that many times. It was a pretty loud noise, and it was from quite far away. He (the attacker) hadn't reached the area at all. They really got him,” Trump told reporters, recalling the incident.
Trump said one security officer was shot at but saved as he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Several protestors had lined up on the road outside the hotel, raising slogans against the Trump administration and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
A CNN reporter who was outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton said he saw a gunman opening fire just a few feet away. He was among the dozens of attendees who took cover as law enforcement swarmed the venue.
The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from California.
Asked how Saturday’s incident impacts him as the US president, Trump told reporters he is in a dangerous job but that he is no “basket case.”
“I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it’s a dangerous life. I think I handle it as well as it can be handled,” Trump said.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts over the past two years – first at a presidential election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, and later in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024.
“I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, and progressives...everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd,” he said.
“We had some great work done by law enforcement, but in light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully,” Trump said.
