AP/UNB, Aug 10 – Former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has said that he tested positive for Covid-19. He made the disclosure in a tweet Monday afternoon, reports Hindustan Times. Mukherjee said he found out about his positive status when he went for a routine check-up. He requested that people who have come in contact with him to self-isolate.
“On a visit to the hospital for a separate procedure, I have tested positive for COVID19 today. I request the people who came in contact with me in the last week, to please self isolate and get tested for COVID-19,” he tweeted.
The 84-year-old former president had cancelled all his engagements and stopped going out for public functions in the last few months.
As the news spread, leaders, cutting across party lines, wished him a quick recovery.
In the wake of coronavirus epidemic, the government had asked all senior citizens (above the age of 65) to stay home.
Mukherjee, who was president between 2012 and 2017, was invited for the at home programme at Rashtrapati Bhavan, which he will not be attending in the wake of this development.
Last year, Mukherjee, a veteran Congress leader with stints in the Indira Gandhi cabinet as well, was awarded the Bharat Ratna – the country’s highest civilian award.
Meanwhile, India registered 1,007 coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the country’s total tally to 44,386 on Monday.
Besides, the fresh coronavirus infections surged by another 62,064 cases, the Health Ministry said, according to an AP report.
So far, the country has reported 2,215,074 positive cases. At least 634,935 patients are undergoing treatment.
India has the third-highest caseload in the world after the US and Brazil. It has the fifth-most deaths but its fatality rate of about 2 percent is far lower than the top two hardest-hit countries.
