Biocon boss Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw tests positive for Covid-19, says she has mild symptoms; Mariwala wishes a speedy recovery

The executive chairperson of the Bengaluru-headquartered Biocon Ltd Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The Biocon top boss shared the news with her 1.5 mn Twitter followers late on Monday night.

"I have added to the Covid count by testing positive. Mild symptoms and I hope it stays that way," the 67-year-old biotechnology industry veteran tweeted.



Soon after she tweeted, Dr Soumya Swaminathan was one of the first to wish the 67-year-old Shaw a speedy recovery. Swaminathan, who is the chief scientist of the World Health Organization, has reiterated that herd immunity will take time and science-based public health measures and community engagement are key to controlling the pandemic.


On Tuesday morning, Marico Chairman Harsh Mariwala wished Shaw a speedy recovery. Shashi Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, wrote on Twitter, "We need you hale & hearty soon!"



Debjani Ghosh, the President of National Association of Software & Services Companies (NASSCOM), industrialist Naveen Jindal and film-maker Shekhar Kapur were among others who urged Shaw to get some rest and be back in action soon.




Till August 17, Bengaluru urban district - where Biocon is located - tops the list of Covid-19 cases in Karnataka, with a total of 91,864 infections so far. Of the 6,317 fresh cases reported in the state on Monday, 2,053 cases are from the Bengaluru urban district alone. So far, Karnataka has cumulatively reported 2,33,283 Covid-19 positive cases, which includes 4,062 deaths and 1,48,562 discharges, a bulletin from the state's health department on Monday, said.