Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has been tested positive for COVID-19. The news was confirmed by Pradhan himself on Twitter. Mr Pradhan, who described himself as "healthy", has been admitted to the Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon near Delhi. He is the second central minister to be infected by the COVID-19 virus; on Sunday Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted that he had tested positive. Mr Shah is also undergoing treatment at Medanta Hospital.
Earlier on Tuesday, Pradhan congratulated the candidates who have cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2019. Pradhan, 51, had developed COVID-like symptoms on Monday and was tested on Tuesday.His staff too had earlier tested positive and has been isolation since. The likes of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddharamaiah have also tested positive in the past few weeks. On Sunday UP minister Kamal Rani Varun, 62, died at Lucknow's Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Science.