Lucknow, March 20: Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh went into self-quarantine on Friday. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader had recently attended a party in Lucknow where Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor was present. After Kanika was confirmed as COVID-19 positive today, Singh announced that he would remain in self-isolation for at least the next 14 days to prevent the transmission of virus. Catch all live updates related to coronavirus outbreak in India and other parts of the world.

Kanika, who returned from London last week, had attended a party where top BJP leaders including Singh, former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and her lawmaker-son Dushyant Singh were present. After Kanika tested positive, the three politicians decided to move into self-quarantine.

Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien, who was seated next to Dushyant Singh during the Parliament's proceeding, has also decided to remain self-quarantine for the next 14 days. The precautionary measure, he said, is aimed at preventing any possible transmission of virus if would had contracted the same.

"This government is putting us all at risk. The PM says self isolate yourself but the Parliament is on. I was sitting next to Dushyant the other day for 2.5 hours. There are two more MPs who are in self isolation. The session should be deferred," Derek had said.

The number of coronavirus cases in India surged to 223 on Friday, with the maximum of COVID-19 infections being reported from Maharashtra so far. The state has so far tested 52 as coronavirus positive, followed by 26 in Kerala, 23 in Uttar Pradesh and 15 in Karnataka. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed the entire nation to maximise the social distancing measures to prevent the transmission of virus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 20, 2020 06:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).