Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan tests positive for Covid-19

BHUBANESWAR: Union petroleum and steel minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday tested positive for Covid-19. He is the second Union minister after home minister Amit Shah to have contracted the virus.
“Due to symptoms, I got myself tested. The report has come positive. On the advice of doctors, I got admitted in a hospital. I am healthy,” he twitted. Sources said the petroleum minister was admitted in Medanta hospital in Gurugram where Shah has also been hospitalised. No other member of his family had any symptom, the sources said.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik expressed concern about Pradhan’s hospitalisation. “Concerned to know about the hospitalisation of Hon'ble Union Minister @dpradhanbjp after being tested positive for #COVID19. Spoke with him and wished for a quick recovery & good health,” Naveen twitted. Several BJP leaders, including state BJP president Samir Mohanty, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha state president Irasis Acharya and party spokesperson Dilip Mohanty wished speedy recovery to the Union minister.
Pradhan (51) is among several senior politicians to have tested positive for Covid-19. Earlier, Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his Karnataka counterpart BS Yediyurappa have tested positive for the virus. In Odisha, three MLAs Sudhanshu Sekhar Parida (BJD), Sukant Nayak (BJP), Prashant Behera (BJD) have tested positive for the virus.