Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who tested positive for Covid-19 last week, has been admitted to hospital. Tendulkar tweeted that he decided to go to a hospital in Mumbai as a matter of abundant precaution under medical advice.
The former captain, who is loved by millions, added that he was hoping to be back home in a few days. Several Indian cities, including Mumbai, have seen a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in the past few weeks. Tendulkar, 47, shared the news at a time when India is staring at what experts have called a "deadlier second wave".
India reported 81,466 news cases and 469 deaths on Thursday - the highest daily spike since December. The country's Covid caseload had dropped sharply in January when it was reporting less than 15,000 cases daily. But cases began to spike again in March, largely driven by poor test-and-trace and lax safety protocols.
Many of the new cases were reported in the western state of Maharashtra, where Tendulkar lives in the city of Mumbai. Since the pandemic began, India has confirmed more than 12.2 million cases and over 163,000 deaths. It has the third-highest number of infections in the world after the United States and Brazil - however, its number of deaths per capita is far lower.
India has registered 118 deaths per million, compared to 1,487 in Brazil and 1,668 in the US.
India launched its vaccination drive in January and so far more than 65 million doses have been administered. But experts say the pace needs to further pick up to halt the spread.
Some have also attributed the uptick in numbers to a highly contagious variants of the coronavirus, but the government has denied this. The surge in cases comes during what some experts have called a "delicate phase" of the pandemic for India.
States are now reintroducing restrictions to stem the spread of the virus.
In his tweet, Tendulkar thanked his fans for their wishes and prayers. His fans and many of his former teammates have responded with prayers for his recovery.
He retired from cricket in 2013 but continues to be one of the most popular public figures in India. He recently took part in the Road Safety World Series Challenge, a veterans' tournament in the central Indian city of Raipur.
He made his international debut aged 16 in November 1989, setting off an illustrious 24-year career that earned him global recognition. In that time, he amassed a record 15,921 Test-match runs, the highest number by any batsman in cricket history.
In 2012, Tendulkar became the only batsman ever to reach 100 international centuries. One of his most memorable Test centuries was an unbeaten 103 that inspired India's victory over England in December 2008, and came shortly after terror attacks hit his home city of Mumbai.
