Congress leader DK Shivakumar has tested positive for the novel coronavirus (File)
Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar tweeted Tuesday afternoon to confirm that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Mr Shivakumar, 58, said he was "doing well" but had been hospitalised "as a precaution". He also urged all those who had come in contact with him to take precautions.
"I had fever and have tested positive for the coronavirus. I am doing well, but as a precaution have been hospitalised and am under the good care of doctors. With your wishes and blessings, I will soon be back. I appeal to all those who came in contact with me to be cautious," he wrote.
On Saturday, Mr Shivakumar tweeted that he was postponing his tour of flood-affected parts of the state.
"On health grounds, postponing my visit by three days to the flood-affected regions of Belagavi and Bagalkote districts, which was scheduled on August 24 and 25. New itinerary will be released soon," he had said then.
Senior Karnataka Congress leader Eshwar Khandre and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy both tweeted, wishing Mr Shivakumar a speedy recovery from the COVID-19 infection.
Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, 77, and Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah, 71, had earlier also tested positive. Both have since recovered; Mr Siddaramaiah, also a former chief minister, has been advised to follow home quarantine.
In addition to the Chief Minister and Mr Siddaramaiah, four other Karnataka ministers have tested Covid positive, including Health Minister B Sriramulu.
The others to have been infected by the virus are Forest Minister Anand Singh, Tourism Minister CT Ravi and Agriculture Minister BC Patil.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan are among the other high-profile leaders who have tested positive for the virus in recent weeks.
Mr Shah, who tested negative earlier this month after receiving treatment at a private hospital in Haryana's Gurgaon, was admitted to AIIMS in Delhi last week; he had been "complaining of fatigue and body ache for last three-four days", the hospital said.
Mr Chouhan remains under treatment at a private hospital in Bhopal.
Karnataka is the fourth worst-affected state by the coronavirus pandemic, with over 3.61 lakh confirmed cases so far; of these 4,810 are deaths linked to the virus and around 81,000 are active cases.
Last week state capital Bengaluru crossed the one lakh-mark.
Amid the rise in cases, the Karnataka government has made it easier for people to travel to or via the state, with a number of checks that were in place earlier now scrapped.
The travel restrictions had been scrapped as per Unlock3 guidelines issued at the end of July by the central government, the Karnataka government said.
This morning data showed India had recorded 60,975 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases past 31.67 lakh.
With input from ANI, PTI