BJP legislator from Karnataka’s Sedam constituency, Rajkumar Patil Telkur, tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday. In addition, his wife and son have also tested positive. MLA Rajkumar Telkur and his family members are currently lodged in a private hospital in Bengaluru.
Speaking to TNM, Rajkumar Telkur said that neither he nor his family members have any symptoms. “Four days ago, my PA (personal assistant) and another employee of mine tested positive. My family members and I were his primary contacts and we were quarantined. Our samples were taken for testing and they returned positive. We were in Bengaluru when this happened, so we were admitted to a private hospital here,” he said.
The MLA urged his constituents to not be worried as he is currently asymptomatic. “My only request to people is not to get scared. I’m completely fine. I only urge everyone in Kalaburagi and my constituency to take all precautions, wear masks and gloves while stepping out and also maintain physical distance,” he added.
Two days ago, Mandya’s Member of Parliament, Sumalatha Ambareesh, tested positive for coronavirus. In addition, Kunigal MLA HD Ranganath also tested positive. On June 3, Mangaluru North BJP MLA Dr Bharath Shetty tested positive. On July 5, former BJP Minister Janardhan Poojary was confirmed to have COVID-19.
As of Wednesday evening, there were 16,527 active COVID-19 cases in Karnataka of which 435 are in Kalaburagi district. This district also witnessed the first death due to COVID-19 in the country earlier in April.