Karnataka Health Minister B. Sriramulu on Sunday tested negative for the coronavirus and was discharged from the Bowring hospital in Bengaluru following his recovery. The Minister had tested positive for the virus last week, on Sunday, August 9. He admitted himself in Bowring, a government hospital in Bengaluru, which drew praise from various quarters.
On August 16, videos emerged of the Minister walking out of the government hospital surrounded by healthcare professionals wearing personal protective equipment kits. He was also presented with a bouquet of flowers for recovering from coronavirus.
He was the fourth minister in the state to be diagnosed for having coronavirus, apart from Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa. The Chief Minister has since recovered and has been discharged from a private hospital in Bengaluru.
Like Yediyurappa, Sriramulu too had earlier expressed confidence that he would recover soon, and asked people not to worry. From the beginning of the pandemic in March, the minister has been touring the state to review the Health Department's work and make arrangements to combat the virus.
Sriramulu had earlier said that he has prayed to God to heal him soon and bestow strength to serve more people during these hard times.
Karnataka Ministers B.C. Patil, S.T. Somasekhara and C.T. Ravi have also tested positive for coronavirus. Even former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had tested positive for the virus, and has subsequently recovered.
Karnataka currently has a record number of active cases with 81,276 people currently recoving from the virus. The state capital Bengaluru currently has 34,858 active cases of coronavirus patiengs, while the state has reported 3,831 deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, as per the latest numbers received from the government on August 15.
With IANS inputs