A total of 11 people, who came to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Puducherry’s new Chief Minister, tested positive for COVID-19, reported The New Indian Express. N Rangasamy of All India NR Congress (AINRC) was sworn in as the CM on Friday and a negative COVID certificate was required to attend the ceremony.

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As many as 183 people underwent the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) at Bharathi park adjoining Raj Nivas (official residence of the Lieutenant Governor).

Among the 11 people who tested positive, nine were police personnel and the remaining two were AINRC’s invitees. All of them were asymptomatic and were not allowed to attend the ceremony.

In the April 6 Puducherry Assembly polls, the AINRC bagged 10 out of the 16 seats it contested. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won six. The CM Rangasamy-led party leads the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the union territory (UT), where 16 is the halfway mark needed to form the government.

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Meanwhile, Puducherry logged 1,746 new cases of COVID-19 cases in the 24-hour period ending at 10 am. A total of 19 COVID patients died during the same period. Till now, the UT has recorded 68,373 virus cases and 920 deaths.