Days after ‘Captain’ Vijayakant, the founder of Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), tested positive for coronavirus, his wife and DMDK’s treasurer Premalatha Vijayakant, too, was diagnosed with COVID-19. She has been admitted to a private hospital in Manapakkam in the outskirts of Chennai.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the hospital said that Premalatha tested positive for the virus on Monday and has been admitted to the hospital on Tuesday. It also said that she is stable and under observation.
The hospital added that Vijayakant, who was admitted for COVID-19 on September 22, will be discharged shortly. “He is asymptomatic, stable and responding well to routine non-invasive care,” the statement added.
Premalatha Vijayakant had recently called for a press meet to inform the media about her husband’s COVID-19 status. Vijayakant is suspected to have contracted the infection from a recent celebration that took place in the party headquarters on September 14. Before that, he has been keeping himself away from active social life due to his health problems.
On September 14, DMDK recently celebrated its 16th annual day, in which Vijayakant, Premalatha and DMDK leader Sudheesh participated. The event was celebrated at the party headquarters in Chennai’s Koyambedu. Vijayakant had hoisted the party flag and had also issued a statement that his party will win the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections by a huge margin.
Premalatha is the latest in the line of politicians to be affected by the disease. Several state ministers and MLAs have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the recent past and have undergone treatment for the same.
Tamil Nadu, on Monday, reported 5,577 new cases of COVID-19, of which 1,283 came from Chennai alone. Coimbatore district reported 587 new COVID-19 cases on Monday. The state has over 46,000 patients currently undergoing treatment for COVID-19 in hospitals and care centres and are in home isolation.