Senior Congress leader and former union Minister for Defence AK Antony has tested positive for the coronavirus. His son, Anil K Antony, confirmed the news on Facebook and said that the Congress leader will be admitted to hospital on Wednesday. As per the Facebook post, Elizabeth Antony, AK Antony’s wife, has also been found to be COVID-19-positive. “Both my parents are positive will be admitted today (sic). Do keep us in your thoughts and prayers,” Anil K Antony wrote on Facebook. As per reports, AK Antony was in quarantine after his wife was found to be COVID-19 positive.

The 79-year-old Congress leader served as the Defence Minister during the Manmohan Singh-headed UPA governments. AK Antony, who is also the former Chief Minister of Kerala, is now serving his fifth term as Member of Parliament. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who had earlier tested positive for the coronavirus, tested negative on November 17 after his recovery. The state Minister for Finance Dr Thomas Isaac and Industries Minister EP Jayarajan had earlier tested positive as well.

Recently, another senior Congress leader, Ahmed Patel was admitted to a hospital in Gurgaon weeks after he was found to have COVID-19. Congress leaders like Abhishek Singhvi and Tarun Gogoi, along with several union Ministers, including Amit Shah, have contracted from the virus and have recovered.

Meanwhile, the union government had recently announced plans for a special immunisation programme, to make a vaccine available to priority groups when ready. It is expected that 30 crore beneficiaries across the country will initially receive the vaccine doses. States have been asked to identify the beneficiaries for this programme.

Recently, Bharat Biotech, a biotechnology company headquartered in Hyderabad, had announced that it has started Phase III trials for ‘Covaxin’, a candidate for India’s first indigenous coronavirus vaccine.