The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Sunday clarified that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has not been tested for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) so far. A confusion was raised earlier today after BJP MP Manoj Tiwari claimed on Twitter that Shah had tested negative for coronavirus. He, however, deleted the tweet after the Ministry's clarification.

#COVID19 test of Home Minister Amit Shah has not been conducted so far: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Official https://t.co/8UaeUtNgBp

— ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2020

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had been diagnosed with coronavirus on August 2 and had himself confirmed the news from his official account on Twitter. He was then admitted to a hospital in Delhi.

He had informed that his health is fine but he was admitted to the hospital on the advice of doctors. "I have tested positive but my health is fine. I have been hospitalized on the advice of doctors," he had tweeted on August 2. 

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), COVID-19 testing prior to discharge is not mandatory. A patient can be discharged from a medical treatment center after 10 days of symptom onset and if they have displayed no signs of fever for three days. The patient is also supposed to be in home isolation for a further period of seven days following the discharge.

When Shah had tested positive for coronavirus, he had also appealed to those who came into close contact with him in the last few days to get themselves tested for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday stated that India's COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 68.32%.

India's patients recovering from COVID-19 crossed the 14.2 lakh mark.

"There has been a sharp increase in COVID-19 recoveries. With 48,900 patients discharged in the last 24 hours, India's total recoveries from COVID-19 has reached 14,27,005. The recovery rate, on a steady upward rise, stands at 68.32%," read a statement from the Union Health Ministry.