Bihar CM Nitish Kumar tests positive for COVID-19 

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has tested positive for COVID-19, his office said on Friday.

"On the advice of doctors, he has isolated himself at his residence," said an official statement.

The Chief Minister has appealed to everyone to take precautions against the virus, said a tweet by the Chief Minister's Office.

Earlier today, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently in home quarantine. Singh shared the news on Twitter and said he currently has mild symptoms.

"I have tested positive for Corona today with mild symptoms. I am under home quarantine. I request everyone who have recently come in my contact to isolate themselves and get tested," he wrote.

Meanwhile, Bihar reported 5,022 fresh COVID-19 infections on Sunday, 496 more than the previous day, pushing the tally to 7,45,399, the state health department said.

With one person succumbing to the infection in the last 24 hours, the death toll rose to 12,101.

The number of active COVID-19 cases witnessed a jump from 12,311 on the previous day to 16,897 on Sunday, a bulletin issued by the state health department said.

State capital, Patna, accounted for the highest number of fresh cases with 2,018.

India is seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases for the last few days. On Sunday, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar had also tested positive for coronavirus.

On Monday, India reported 1,79,723 new COVID-19 cases in the preceding 24 hours. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday chaired a meeting to assess the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country amid a surge in cases and emergence of Omicron variant.