Hyderabad, June 1: Senior Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) leader in Telangana Chintala Ramachandra Reddy has tested Covid-19 positive and is undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital, here. His condition is stated to be stable.

According to hospital sources, the former MLA from Khairatabad was brought to hospital on Sunday with suspected coronavirus symptoms. His swab samples, sent to a government-run hospital, were found positive. Coronavirus in India: Live Map.

After he tested positive, his wife and son too were admitted to the same hospital. Their samples have been sent for testing. He is the first political leader in Telangana to test Covid-19 positive. Almost all Covid-19 patients are undergoing treatment at government-run Gandhi Hospital, the designated Covid facility.

Some private hospitals have also been permitted to treat Covid-19 patients. They are required to follow the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) protocol. The health authorities are required to regularly monitor status of patients in private hospitals.

However, they are not allowed to do Covid-19 testing. They send samples to Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) or other government-run hospitals.

The Telangana High Court had last week permitted private hospitals and laboratories to conduct Covid-19 tests, if approved by the ICMR. The court had found fault with the state government for not allowing private hospitals and laboratories to do the testing.

However, the health authorities have not yet issued orders for allowing tests in private hospitals.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 01, 2020 05:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).