Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav tests positive for COVID-19

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said in a tweet that he has tested positive for COVID-19. Yadav has isolated himself at home.

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“My corona test report has come positive. I have separated myself from everyone and treatment has started at home. It is my humble request to those, who have come in contact with me in the last few days, to get themselves checked. They are also requested to stay in isolation for a few days,” he tweeted in Hindi.

Notably, the SP supremo advised the UP government on Monday to open the Lucknow Cancer Institute for treatment of COVID-19 patients amid soaring cases in the city.

Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday recorded its highest-ever single-day spike of 18,021 coronavirus cases while 85 fatalities took the death toll in the state to 9,309, PTI reported quoting a senior official.

The state recorded 85 deaths in the past 24 hours due to coronavirus, the highest single-day toll this month, according to the health department. The total number of cases in UP stands at 723,582 and the active caseload is 95,980.