BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been infected with coronavirus, says the Ministry of Health.

Talking to UNB, senior information officer of the ministry Maidul Islam Prodhan said the BNP chief underwent Covid test on Saturday evening and the results came out to be positive.

He said her samples were collected for Covid-19 test by icddr,b.

BNP leaders, however, said they do not have any such information.

Also read: Khaleda’s conditional release extended by six months

 A source close to Khaleda’s one of the relatives who met her last week later tested positive for the Coronavirus. “That’s why Madam’s (Khaleda’s) family took initiatives for her Covid test, though she has no major symptoms.”

Also read: Khaleda’s sentences could be suspended for another six months: Law Ministry

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government freed Khaleda Zia from jail for six months through an executive order suspending her sentences on March 25 last year.

She was released from the prison cell of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) the same day, and she has been staying at her Gulshan house since then.

On August 27 last year, the government extended her release for six more months and it was extended again for six months on March 15 last.

Also read: Are some Covid-19 vaccines more effective than others?

On February 8, 2018, Khaleda was sent to the Old Dhaka Central Jail after a lower court sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. The High Court later doubled her jail term.

Khaleda was found guilty in another corruption case the same year. Her party claims both the cases are politically motivated.