Bhubaneswar: From former President Pranab Mukherjee to Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Bhubaneswar (Central) MLA Ananta Narayana Jena contracting COVID-19, it is evident that coronavirus has made its way into the Indian corridors of power.
In the latest, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is the sixth among Union Ministers to have tested positive for coronavirus.
August has begun on a sombre note for national as well as Odisha politicians, who have the luxury to stay as much protected from this infection as any precaution book allows, as they have announced about contracting the virus.
More so, the world is 150 days into the coronavirus pandemic and yet awaits a vaccine.
Here’s a list of some prominent political leaders from Odisha and elsewhere in the country who have contracted the virus while some have recovered:
Union Ministers
Amit Shah
The Home Minister took to Twitter informing about his test results on August 2. He took the test after showing symptoms of coronavirus and the report was positive. He was admitted to Medanta Hospital and has recovered from the infection.
Dharmendra Pradhan
The Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel on August 4 tweeted to confirm the news of testing positive for the virus. Pradhan stated that his condition was stable. He was also admitted to Medanta Hospital and has recovered from the infection.
Kailash Chaudhary
The Union Minister of State for Agriculture tested positive for COVID-19 on August 8. He also took to Twitter to inform about his test results. Chaudhary said he was having “fever with little breathing problem”. He was treated in a hospital in Jodhpur.
Arjun Ram Meghwal
The Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Water Resources tested positive on August 8 and was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. The minister was in the news when he launched ‘Bhabhi Ji Papad‘, claiming that the food item will help eradicate the novel coronavirus. He recovered from the infection on August 18.
Shripad Naik
Union Minister of State for AYUSH tested positive for COVID-19 on August 12. He also took to Twitter to inform this. Since he was asymptomatic, the minister went for home isolation.
Odisha Minister and MLAs
Susanta Singh
The Rural Development, Labour and Employees’ Insurance Minister tested positive for COVID-19 on August 17. He confirmed the news in a tweet. He is the first minister from Odisha to contract the novel coronavirus.
Shreemayee Mishra
Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) chairperson tested positive on August 19. She informed this via a tweet and added that she was stable, “with the blessings of Lord Jagannath”. She is a BJD leader from Balangir district and General secretary of the state ruling party.
Ananta Narayan Jena
The Bhubaneswar (Central) MLA tested positive on August 20. Jena, who is also the former mayor of Bhubaneswar, informed this in a tweet. He added that his health condition was stable.
Sukanta Kumar Nayak
The BJP’s Nilagiri MLA was the first legislator to have tested positive for COVID-19 on July 6. He informed that he developed flu-like symptoms, felt uneasy and underwent a COVID-19 test.
Sudhanshu Shekhar Parida
The BJD MLA from Remuna in Balasore district tested positive for COVID-19 on July 14. He was in home quarantine after having come in contact with BJP’s Nilagiri MLA Sukanta Kumar Nayak, who had earlier tested positive for the virus.
Soumya Ranjan Patnaik
The Khandapada MLA and editor of the regional newspaper, ‘Sambad’, along with his wife, were admitted to hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 on August 14. The two were admitted to Ashwini COVID Hospital in Cuttack
Srikant Sahu
The BJD legislator from Polasara in Ganjam district tested positive for COVID-19 on July 24.
Prasant Behera
The first-time legislator from the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) tested positive for the virus on July 8. Behera, the Salepur MLA, his PSO and driver were infected and shifted to a COVID hospital in Cuttack for treatment.
Other State CMs
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan tested positive for COVID-19 on July 25. In a tweet on his official account, the Chief Minister wrote in Hindi: “My dear countrymen, I was having COVID-19 symptoms and, after a test, my report came back positive”. However, he has now recovered and resumed his work.
BS Yediyurappa
The Karnataka Chief Minister was admitted to Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru after he tested COVID-19 positive on August 3. He took to Twitter to inform about his test result. His daughter, Padmavathi, had also tested positive for the virus, but his son, Vijayendra, tested negative.
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