New Delhi: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been hospitalised. Pradhan is the second Union Minister in the Cabinet, after Home Minister Amit Shah, to have tested positive for COVID-19. A source, who spoke to PSU Watch on the condition of anonymity, said that he has been admitted to the same hospital in Gurugram where Shah is admitted — Medanta. "COVID-19 I got the test done in my symptoms, in which my report is positive. I am hospitalized and healthy on the advice of doctors," tweeted Pradhan on Tuesday.
Sources said that Pradhan had met Shah last week. Shah was admitted to the hospital on July 2 after testing positive for COVID-19. On July 3, Pradhan too developed COVID-19-like symptoms and was tested on Tuesday.
Pradhan is one of the several high-profile names to have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent times. Other leaders who have caught the viral infection include, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddharamaiah. It is also interesting to note that none of these leaders are seeking treatment at public health facilities. While Pradhan and Shah are hospitalised in Medanta, Chouhan is seeking treatment at Chirayu Medical College in Bhopal, and Yediyurappa and Siddharamaiah are admitted in Manipal Hospital. Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who has also been diagnosed with the infection, is being treated at privately-owned Kauvery Hospital.
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Telegram. Join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram and stay updated)