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Amitabh Bachchan, a Bollywood megastar who is widely considered in India as the country’s greatest living actor, has been diagnosed with coronavirus and hospitalized.

“I have tested Covid positive [and been] shifted to hospital,” Bachchan announced on Twitter to his 43.2 million followers. 

The 77-year-old said all his family members had since been tested for coronavirus, and were awaiting their results. He urged everyone with whom he’d been in contact over the past 10 days to get tested too. 

T 3590 -I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited ..All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested !

Thousands of fans instantly commented on his tweet, wishing Bachchan a speedy recovery and promising to pray for him. 

His son Abhishek Bachchan, who is also an actor and producer, later tweeted that his test turned out positive too. “Both of us having mild symptoms,” he wrote.

Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital. We have informed all the required authorities and our family and staff are all being tested. I request all to stay calm and not panic. Thank you. ??

Amitabh Bachchan is one of the most admired stars in Bollywood, having appeared in some 200 films during his impressive 50-year-long career. In 2015, he was listed by Forbes as among the 100 most highly paid actors on the planet. 

With more than 821,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases and more than 22,000 fatalities, India is currently the third-most affected country in the world after the US and Brazil.

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