On Saturday, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan revealed that he had tested positive for COVID-19. His son, actor Abhishek Bachchan, has also tested positive for the virus. The actors, who are hospitalized in Mumbai's Nanavati hospital, currently have mild symptoms, EDNews.net reports citing Deutsche Welle.
In a tweet, Amitabh Bachchan said that everyone in close proximity to him in the past ten days — including his staff and family — had taken the COVID-19 test and were awaiting results.
According to local media reports, Amitabh Bachchan's wife and daughter-in-law, Jaya Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, have tested negative.
T 3590 -I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited ..
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 11, 2020
All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested !
In a career spanning over 50 years, Amitabh Bachchan has acted in over 200 films. Bachchan rose to fame in the 1970s, and is credited with creating the "angry young man" persona in Indian films.
Bachchan had a brief stint in politics in 1985 and even made a small appearance in the 2013 Hollywood film The Great Gatsby.
In 2015, Bachchan revealed that he was treated for Hepatitis B for over 20 years and has lost more than 75% of his liver to the disease.
While loved widely for his work, the senior actor had recently faced scrutiny for his views and opinions on COVID-19. He was criticized for spreading false information on the virus.