Former  Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, who had tested positive for Covid-19 , has successfully undergone surgery to remove a clot in his brain.  Mr Mukherjee, 84, is on ventilator support at the Army Hospital Research and Referral in Delhi, according to Indian media. In a tweet this morning Mr Mukherjee, who was President between 2012 and 2017, urged all those who had come in contact with him over the past week to self-isolate and get tested for COVID-19. "On a visit to the hospital for a separate procedure, I have tested positive for COVID19 today. I request the people who came in contact with me in the last week, to please self-isolate and get tested for COVID-19," he wrote. The  former president had cancelled all his engagements and stopped going out for public functions in the last few months. As the news spread, leaders, cutting across party lines, wished him a quick recovery. In the wake of coronavirus epidemic, the government had asked all senior citizens (above the age of 65) to stay home. Mukherjee, who was president between 2012 and 2017, was invited for the at home programme at Rashtrapati Bhavan, which he will not be attending in the wake of this development. Last year, Mukherjee, a veteran Congress leader with stints in the Indira Gandhi cabinet as well, was awarded the Bharat Ratna - the country’s highest civilian award. Meanwhile, India registered 1,007 coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the country’s total tally to 44,386 on Monday. Besides, the fresh coronavirus infections surged by another 62,064 cases, the Health Ministry said, according to an AP report.

Also read: India sees 1,007 coronavirus deaths in 24hr

So far, the country has reported 2,215,074 positive cases. At least 634,935 patients are undergoing treatment.
India has the third-highest caseload in the world after the US and Brazil. It has the fifth-most deaths but its fatality rate of about 2 percent is far lower than the top two hardest-hit countries.