Coronavirus update: Marathi actress Nivedita Saraf tests positive for COVID-19

Veteran Marathi film and television actress Nivedita Saraf has tested positive for COVID-19 and quarantined herself at home.

Nivedita, wife of popular yesteryear star Ashok Saraf, was shooting for a Marathi daily soap, Agga Bai Sasubai, which is telecast on the Zee Marathi television channel.

The channel shared a video in which Saraf has spoken at length about her condition and the precautions that she is taking.

"I had no symptoms of coronavirus, I was shooting for 12 hours rigorously," Nivedita Saraf said in the video. "I didn't feel any weakness. I just had a mild cold. Just to be on the safe side I decided to get tested for COVID-19 on 17 September. On 19 September I was informed by the BMC that I have tested positive. They asked whether I would be home quarantined or get admitted. I decided to quarantine myself at home."

Immediately, her husband Ashok Saraf, who is 73 and suffers from diabetes, also underwent the test for the SARS-CoV-2. "Fortunately, his result was negative," Nivedita said.

Nivedita Saraf also said that after she tested positive, the production house got the rest of the cast and the entire crew tested, but no one else had contracted the contagion.

Apart from Nivedita, the show stars other senior artistes like Girish Oak, 60, and Ravi Patwardhan, 83. A source told ETimes, an entertainment website, that as a precaution, the channel has stopped shooting for the show since 15 September and will resume only after Nivedita Saraf completes her home quarantine.

Recently, some members of the cast and crew of Sony Marathi's show Aai Majhi Kalubai had tested positive for COVID-19 and veteran actress Ashalata Wabgaonkar, 79, who played an important role in the serial, died of the ailment on Tuesday 22 September.