Home Minister Amit Shah tests positive for coronavirus
As the coronavirus outbreak continues to surge in India, Union Home Minister Amit Shah revealed that he has tested positive for COVID-19. The Minister said that he will get himself admitted to a hospital and urged those who came in contact with him to isolate themselves and get tested. As of Sunday morning, India reported over 17.5 lakh COVID-19 cases, including 37,364 deaths.
'Got tested after noticing symptoms; result positive'
Taking to Twitter, Shah wrote, "After noticing initial symptoms of COVID-19, I got myself tested and the result was found to be positive. My health is fine, but on the advice of doctors, I am getting myself admitted to a hospital." He added, "I urge everyone who came in contact with me over the past few days to isolate themselves and get themselves tested."
You can view Shah's tweet here
Shah first Union Cabinet Minister to contract coronavirus
Shah is the first minister in the Union Cabinet to have tested positive for COVID-19. Earlier last week, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had also tested positive for the viral disease, becoming the first CM to have contracted the infection. He had also urged his contacts to get themselves tested. Chouhan is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhopal.
UP Minister died of COVID-19 earlier today
Earlier on Sunday, Uttar Pradesh Minister for Technical Education Kamal Rani Varun had died after contracting the virus. Varun was 62 and also had co-morbidities, including diabetes, hypertension, and hyperthyroidism. She was being treated at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Hospital in Lucknow.
India reports 17.5 COVID-19 cases, over 37,000 deaths
As of Sunday morning, the Union Health Ministry had confirmed a total of 17,50,723 COVID-19 cases, out of which, 5,67,730 cases are active while 11,45,629 patients have recovered. India has reported the world's third-highest number of cases after the United States (46.20 lakh cases; 1.54 lakh deaths) and Brazil (27.07 lakh cases; over 93,000 deaths). The death toll in India is 37,364.
COVID-19 cases spike in India
The number of cases in India has spiked substantially since July. On Saturday alone, India had registered roughly 55,000 new cases, a day after reporting a record spike of over 57,000 new cases. The spike comes as India enters the third phase of 'Unlock'.
