Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has tested positive for coronavirus on August 4. (File)
Leader of opposition and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was discharged today after the report of his second coronavirus test also came out negative, his office said in a statement, adding that he has now been advised home quarantine.
"Mr Siddaramaiah is being discharged in accordance with guidelines. His vital parameters were stable and at discharge, he was comfortable and asymptomatic. He has been advised follow-up and home quarantine as per guidelines," said Chairman of the Manipal Hospital, where he was admitted on August 3 for urinary infection and subsequently tested positive for the coronavirus.
The 72-year-old leader of opposition, whose birthday was yesterday, has thanked doctors and medical staff who took care of him at the Manipal hospital for the last 10 days.
Even during the course of his clinical recovery, Mr Siddaramaiah was tweeting about the various issues affecting the state, from floods to the violence that hit Bengaluru on Tuesday.
The veteran Congress leader has been discharged within days of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa's recovery from the coronavirus. The two leaders were admitted to the same hospital within days of each other.
Several top politicians in the country, including former President Pranab Mukherjee, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, among others have also tested positive for coronavirus in the last few weeks.
India is the third worst-hit country by the pandemic after the United States and Brazil. More worryingly, the country has also been recording a bigger single-day jump in fresh Covid infections than the US and Brazil for the last week days.
This morning, the country near the 24 lakh coronavirus case mark as it posted almost 67,000 new COVID-19 cases. Over 47,000 patients have died since the beginning of the epidemic.
An analysis of the state-wise data shared by the Union Home Ministry, shows that there are no signs of the curve "flattening" in most states, including Karnataka which is the fourth worst-hit state by the pandemic. Evidence of "flattening of the curve" is generally considered the first positive indicator that the Covid situation in a region may be coming under control.