Rajya Sabha MP and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) patriarch, Shibu Soren and his wife Rupi Soren have tested positive for Covid-19 in a first instance of the virus infecting members of the Soren family here, health officials said on Saturday.

Shibu, one of the stalwarts of politics in the Bihar-Jharkhand region, is 76-year-old and is already said to be dealing with several age-related ailments. He has had a history of cardiac and kidney ailments. However, sources from JMM said that Shibu was stable and yet to complain of major symptoms of the infection.

“Guruji is stable and has been isolated at home. We will take him to a hospital if he complains of any discomfort,” said JMM spokesperson Vinod Pandey.

Shibu’s son, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, is also likely to be tested for SARS-COV-2 virus the third time after he attended a cabinet meeting last week and came in contact with state health minister Banna Gupta, who was found infected on the same day. Hemant and his spouse Kalpana Soren tested negative for Covid-19 twice, once in July and then in August.

As per figures with the health department, Shibu was among the 990 people who were reported Covid-positive on Friday night in Jharkhand. Earlier on August 7, at least 12 staff in the former chief minister’s official residence at Morhabadi were found to be Covid-positive, sources said.

Novel Coronavirus has infected members of the political fraternity across India, and Jharkhand was no different. State drinking water and sanitation minister Mithilesh Thakur and JMM’s Tundi legislator Mathura Mahto were found infected last month. Earlier this month, health minister Gupta, AJSU Party chief and former deputy chief minister Sudesh Mahto, and Congress party’s Mahagama MLA Deepika Singh tested positive for Covid-19. AJSU Party’s Gomia MLA Lambodar Mahto and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Ranchi MLA CP Singh were also found infected by the notorious virus.

Meanwhile, Covid cases across the state have skyrocketed with Ranchi, East Singhbhum and Dhanbad accounting for over 40 per cent of the tally in Jharkhand. As per government figures, the Covid tally in Jharkhand was 28,231 by Saturday morning. As many as 297 people have died of Cpvid-19 infection in state, and more than 18,000 people have recovered. Nearly 10,000 people were infected in Ranchi and East Singhbhum alone, highlights government data.