India health minister tests positive for COVID-19, asks others to undergo tests

PATNA—Union minister of state for health and family welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey has tested positive for COVID-19.

The minister who represents Buxur LS seat in Bihar himself announced this through his Twitter handle and asked all those who came in contact with him to go for test.

“I underwent coronavirus test after noticing initial symptoms of the virus and has been tested positive. Currently, I am fine and am under home isolation on the advice of the doctors,” Choubey tweeted.

कोरोना के शुरूआती लक्षण दिखने पर मैंने आज टेस्ट करवाया और रिपोर्ट पॉजिटिव आई है। मेरी तबीयत ठीक है, डॉक्टर्स की सलाह पर होम आइसोलेशन में सभी दिशा- निर्देशो का पालन कर रहा हूं। मेरा अनुरोध है, जो भी लोग गत कुछ दिनों में संपर्क में आए हैं, कृपया खुद को आइसोलेट कर अपनी जांच करवा लें

— Ashwini Kr. Choubey (@AshwiniKChoubey) December 28, 2020

Reports quoting local media said the minister had come in contact with over 500 people over the past 10 days and had also joined the last rites of union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s mother in Patna.

Apart from this, the minister also attended several programmes of the health department in several parts of the country over the past 10 days.

Earlier, Bihar health minister Mangal Pandey too had tested positive for corornavirus.