KURNOOL: Six relatives of Kurnool MP Dr S Sanjeev Kumar, including his 83-year-old father, tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday, and were shifted to the Kurnool Government General Hospital, which is now a state-level Covid hospital.

However, as the MP’s father’s condition turned critical, he was taken to Hyderabad, where he is on ventilator support.

Confirming this to The New Indian Express, Sanjeev Kumar said that apart from his father, both his brothers and their wives, and one of his nephews tested positive for coronavirus.

The spread of the infection has entered stage three (community transmission), the MP said, adding that his relatives strictly practised social distancing.

“We are six siblings, and my brothers and their wives are doctors. Both my brothers run private clinics, but they have been shut for one-and-a-half months,” he said.

The MP added that his brothers live separately in Narsingaraopeta of Kurnool, and his father lived with his younger brother.

“There was no outside contact as we protected ourselves and have not even brought newspapers home,” he asserted, adding that his brothers and their wives were asymptomatic and did not have any travel history. This shows that Kurnool has entered stage three, Sanjeev Kumar pointed out. However, the MP said one of his brothers had visited a private hospital — Mycure — where he is a consultant.

The MP himself got tested for Covid-19 two weeks ago and the result returned negative. Kurnool MLA Hafeez Khan too tested negative for coronavirus.Sanjeev Kumar urged people to practise social distancing and adhere to the lockdown guidelines strictly as it is for their own good.