KARACHI: Sindh Governor Imran Ismail has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, he announced on Twitter late on Monday. "I have just been tested Covid-19 positive, Inshallah will fight it out," he tweeted.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had taught his workers to fight the most difficult situations in life. "I believe this is nothing against what we are prepared for," he wrote.

The governor was tested for the virus on Sunday and his results came out positive today, he told ARY News in an interview.

Earlier this month, while Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah emphasised the need for a stricter lockdown in the province to prevent a surge in coronavirus cases, Governor Ismail had suggested favouring a relaxation in the restrictions after the three-week lockdown period was to end on April 14. The restrictions were subsequently extended for two weeks.

“We are not against the lockdown and we have supported it, but in the prevailing circumstances any extension in such types of restrictions seems not possible,” the governor, who belongs to the ruling PTI, had told reporters in Karachi.

He is the latest among several lawmakers or persons with political connections to have tested positive for the disease. Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal MPA Abdul Rasheed, who is a member of the Sindh Assembly, had last week tested positive.

Sindh education minister Saeed Ghani, who himself went into isolation after being infected with the virus last month and subsequently recovered, wished Ismail an early recovery.