Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Karnataka counterpart Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said they tested positive for the coronavirus disease.

The defence minister said he has mild symptoms and is under home quarantine. “I request everyone who have recently come in my contact to isolate themselves and get tested,” the Bharatiya Janata Party leader wrote on Twitter.

Kumar said he is isolating at home and urged the people of Bihar to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, his office said.

The Karnataka chief minister said he also has mild symptoms. “My health is fine, I am under home quarantine,” he said in a tweet. “I request everyone who have recently come in my contact to isolate themselves and get tested.”

The Omicron variant of the virus has led to an almost eight-fold jump in daily infections over the last 10 days. India reported 1,79,723 new cases on Monday, taking the tally since the pandemic began in early 2020 to 3,57,07,727. With 146 deaths, the toll rose to 4,83,936.

On January 4, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that he had tested positive for the coronavirus and had isolated himself at home. In the week before that, he had taken part in at least four rallies in the poll-bound states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.