Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday announced that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. "I have tested positive for COVID-19. I request everyone who came in close contact with me over the last few days to isolate themselves and get tested," he said in a social media post. The Janata Dal (Secular) leader however did not get admission in Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru since no beds were available. He was admitted at another private hospital in the city.
For the last few days, Kumaraswamy had been campaigning for his party’s candidate in Basavakalyan, where polling is underway on Saturday in the bye-election. He had got himself inoculated with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on March 23.
I have tested positive for COVID-19. I request everyone who came in close contact with me over the last few days to isolate themselves and get tested.
— H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) April 17, 2021
ನನ್ನ ಕೋವಿಡ್-19 ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆಯ ವರದಿ ಪಾಸಿಟಿವ್ ಎಂದು ಬಂದಿದೆ. ಕಳೆದ ಕೆಲವು ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ನ ಸಂಪರ್ಕಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದವರು ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆ ಮಾಡಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಿ.
HD Kumaraswamy received wishes from his party members after announcing that he had tested positive for the virus.
The development comes a day after Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday and was admitted at Manipal Hospital. Yediyurappa was previously infected by the coronavirus in August 2020 and he made a full recovery then. He also received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine last month.
After he tested positive, Yediyurappa postponed an all-party meeting scheduled for April 18 to discuss the rising COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru and Karnataka. Yediyurappa's primary contacts include Health Minister K Sudhakar, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner Gaurav Gupta, Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar among others. The officials attended a meeting on Friday morning held outdoors in Yediyurappa's residence.
Yediyurappa had been campaigning for April 17 bye-polls to Belgaum Lok Sabha, and Maski and Basavakalyan Assembly segments for the last few days, and is said to have developed fever while campaigning in Belagavi a couple of days ago, but had subsequently tested negative, they said.
Two weeks ago, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and his wife Chennamma tested positive for the virus before making a full recovery.
Karnataka reported its biggest single day spike of 14,859 COVID-19 cases, and 78 related fatalities on Friday. Bengaluru Urban accounted for the bulk of the cases, with 9,917 infections which was slightly lower than the 10,497 cases reported on Thursday.
With PTI inputs