Harsh Shringla tests Covid negative after false alarm; MEA heaves sigh of relief

Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla tested negative on Wednesday morning after a false alarm on Tuesday, which led to the cancellation of a meeting between visiting French foreign minister Jean Yves Le Drian and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, people familiar with the matter said.

The ‘inconclusive’ result of the Covid-19 test on Shringla and the subsequent cancellation of the meeting sent the entire MEA into a tizzy since external affairs minister S Jaishankar and visiting French minister had held the delegation-level talks earlier on Tuesday. The Indian envoy to France and the French ambassador to India were also present at the delegation-level talks.

Foreign secretary Harsh Shringla’s periodic Covid-19 test had produced an “inconclusive” result sometime after a meeting between the delegations led by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and Le Drian at Hyderabad House

This test report not only led to the cancellation of the meeting with PM Modi but all top officials present at the delegation-level talks went into isolation. However, foreign secretary Shringla, who has already been administered two doses of the Covid vaccine, went for an RT-PCR test, which gave a negative result.

This will not only allow the French minister to continue with his scheduled programmes in Bengaluru but also allow foreign secretary Shringla to return to his engagements within and without the foreign ministry.