Aishwarya Rai Bachchan tests positive as Covid-19 hits Bollywood's first family
The Indian actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has tested positive for coronavirus, a day after her father-in-law and fellow actor, Amitabh Bachchan, and her husband, Abhishek, also both actors, were admitted to hospital for Covid-19.
Hospital officials and government health authorities said on Sunday that both men were in stable condition. Rai Bachchan and her eightyear-old daughter were self-quarantining at home.
Maharashtra state health minister Rajesh Tope said Rai Bachchan and her daughter were asymptomatic.
Rai Bachchan, 46, has worked on several Bollywood and Hollywood films and is a brand ambassador for several multinational companies.
Amitabh Bachchan, 77, the eldest member of what is often known as Bollywood’s first family, has been a prominent figure in the fight against the coronavirus by appearing in public service advertisements in which he urges people to wear a mask, wash their hands frequently and maintain physical distance.
His breakthrough performance came in the 1973 film Zanjeer, or The Chain, and he rose to superstardom playing bold characters, inspiring fans to copy his hairstyle, clothes and deep voice. He briefly entered politics in 1985 but resigned his seat in parliament when former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s administration became ensnared in corruption.
He returned to film in the 1990s and made a rare Hollywood appearance in Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 version of The Great Gatsby.
On Sunday, India registered a record increase in coronavirus cases, taking its total to nearly 850,000 and forcing authorities to reimpose a partial lockdown in some densely populated areas of the country.
Federal health ministry data showed more than 27,100 new cases reported in the last 24 hours while the number of deaths increased to 22,674, after 551 people died from Covid-19 in a day.
Authorities at the weekend launched a massive sanitising drill at Bachchan’s residence in Mumbai, spraying disinfectant in the large compound and on cars parked there.
India’s film industry recently resumed shoots after a months-long hiatus following the imposition of a nationwide lockdown in late March. Actors over 65, such as Bachchan, are banned from the sets because of their vulnerability to complications caused by the virus.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report