After actors Kareena Kapoor Khan and Amrita Arora tested positive for Covid, Mumbai’s civic body BMC has launched RT-PCR tests at their buildings. Over a dozen of their contacts, including others who, like them, attended filmmaker Karan Johar’s dinner last week, have been tested.
The actors, both double vaccinated, are in home isolation and their buildings in Mumbai have been sealed. Civic officials in PPE suits sanitised their buildings this morning.
The BMC or Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has said that under new rules in the shadow of Omicron, there will be daily check-ins on the actors’ health.
Kareena Kapoor Khan and Amrita Arora are a part of a group that attended a dinner at Karan Johar home on December 8 (last Wednesday).
They both confirmed the news on Instagram. “I have tested positive for Covid. I immediately isolated myself while following all medical protocols. I request anyone who has come in contact with me to please get tested,” wrote Kareena Kapoor, a mother of two.
“My family and staff are also double vaccinated. They are currently not showing any symptoms. Thankfully, I am feeling ok and hope to be up and about soon,” she added.
Designer and The Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives star Seema Khan, who was also at the party, is also Covid positive.
Others at the party said to be at risk of contracting Covid include Kareena Kapoor’s sister and actor Karisma Kapoor, actor Malaika Arora (Amrita Arora’s sister) and designer Masaba Gupta.
The BMC will reportedly also sanitise Karan Johar’s building. Covid tests have been ordered for all those who attended the party or came in contact with the actors.
“Some people have been infected. We have done contact tracing and over 15 people have been tested. The results are due tomorrow,” said Assistant Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani.
Kareena Kapoor and Amrita Arora had also attended another party last week, hosted by Anil Kapoor’s daughter Rhea Kapoor.
While the two dinners are in the spotlight, celebrity events and parties where Covid rules like masks and distancing were skipped have become a huge concern for Mumbai as it tries to keep Omicron cases in check.
An FIR has been registered over Punjabi rapper AP Dhillon’s concert on Sunday in violation of a weekend ban on large gatherings. That show also saw Bollywood celebrities like Jahnvi Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan and her brother.
Across India, there are now 41 cases of Omicron, the new Covid variant first found in South Africa last month. The strain, which has a large number of mutations, is more contagious than the Delta variant but is believed to cause milder symptoms.