Yediyurappa tests COVID positive for 2nd time in 8 months

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time in eight months and has been shifted to a private hospital for treatment.

The 78-year-old Yeddiyurappa was earlier hospitalised on August 2, 2020 after he tested positive for coronavirus.

"Upon having mild fever, today I got tested for Covid-19 and my report has come out positive. Although I am doing fine, I am being hospitalised based on the advise of doctors," Yediyurappa has tweeted.

He requested all those who had come in contact with him recently to be observant and exercise self-quarantine.

Manipal Hospital, where the Chief Minister is undergoing treatment, said he is "cheerful" and "clinically in a stable condition".

"...Yediyurappa got admitted to Manipal hospital, Old airport road this afternoon. He has tested positive for Covid at an outside laboratory. A medical board of clinical experts has been instituted and currently he is being evaluated and treated for respiratory symptoms," it said in a statement.

"As the Chief Minister was suffering from fever, he had gone to Ramaiah hospital for general check up,where COVID test was conducted and as the report has come positive, he will be shifted to the Manipal Hospital," the CMO had earlier said in a statement.

Yediyurappa was last year admitted to the same Manipal Hospital for nine days, and was discharged on recovery.

He had got himself inoculated with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on March 12, and was administered Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.

The Chief Minister had cut short his campaign programme for bypolls in Belagavi on Thursday, due to fever and exhaustion, official sources said.

He had been campaigning for April 17 bypolls 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 (Belgaum LS) couple of days ago, but had subsequently tested negative, they said.

Earlier on Friday, Yediyurappa had chaired an emergency meeting with Health Minister K Sudhakar and top officials, including Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar, for about one-and-half hours outdoors at his official residence Cauvery, on the COVID situation in the state and had addressed the media.

The pictures and videos of the meeting shared with the media showed the Chief Minister, Minister and officials maintaining physical distance and wearing masks.

Several political leaders, including former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, former Chief Ministers Siddaramaiah and H D Kumaraswamy, state Congress chief D K Shivakumar and several of Yediyurappa's cabinet colleagues, as well as BJP leaders wished the CM a speedy recovery.