SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav tests positive for COVID-19; no symptoms at present

Samajwadi Party on Wednesday revealed that its founder-cum-patron Mulayam Singh Yadav tested positive for the novel coronavirus. At present, the Mainpuri Lok Sabha MP is being examined by the doctors. In a heartening development, the SP added that Yadav is asymptomatic. The SP founder has been treated for kidney-related complications, urinary infection, stomach-related ailments and abdominal pain in the recent past. Yadav has served as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh thrice. Moreover, he was the Defence Minister in the United Front government in 1996.

Read: UP Reports 41 More COVID-19 Deaths, 2,778 Fresh Cases

Politicians grapple with COVID-19

Earlier, several members of the Union Cabinet such as Prahlad Patel, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Shripad Naik, Dharmendra Pradhan, Kailash Choudhary, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Gajendra Shekhawat and Suresh Angadi were diagnosed with COVID-19. Moreover, in mandatory tests carried out before the beginning of the Monsoon session of Parliament, it was revealed that at least 25 MPs- 17 from Lok Sabha and 8 from Rajya Sabha have contracted the virus. This includes BJP parliamentarians such as Meenakshi Lekhi and Anant Kumar Hegde.

Apart from this, Chief Ministers from Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana also tested positive for the novel coronavirus. However, Angadi and former President Pranab Mukherjee passed away after being diagnosed with COVID-19. On Monday, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu recovered from the novel coronavirus.

Read: India's COVID-19 Testing Crosses 9 Crore-mark; Over 15 Lakh Samples Can Be Tested Everyday

COVID-19 crisis in India

Currently, there are 72,39,389 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in India out of which 63,01,927 patients have recovered while 1,10,586 deaths have been reported. There are 8,26,876 active cases in the country. With 74,632 patients getting discharged in the last 24 hours, the recovery rate has soared to 87.05%. The gap between recovered and active cases rose to 54,75,051. 79% of the newly recovered cases are from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Delhi. 

Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, and Odisha account for 77% of the 63,509 cases reported in the last 24 hours. On the other hand, nearly 80% of the 730 new deaths were reported from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh. So far, 9,00,90,122 tests have been conducted in laboratories across India. 

Read: Not Following Pandemic Norms, Boarding Train If COVID Positive Could Invite Fine, Jail Term