Ex-president Asif Ali Zardari tests positive for COVID, confirms Bilawal Bhutto

• Former president Asif Ali Zardari is isolating.
• Bilawal Bhutto says he has received booster dose.
• Zardari has mild COVID symptoms, Bilawal says.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari has tested positive for coronavirus, his son Bilawal Bhutto confirmed Wednesday, as the infection continues to spread again globally.

Foreign Minister and PPP Chairman Bilawal said that the party's co-chairman was not only vaccinated but had also received booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine — which enhances immunity against the virus.

"He is fully vaccinated, boosted, isolating with mild symptoms and undergoing treatment. We are praying for his swift recovery," the foreign minister said in a tweet.

The news of Zardari becoming the infection's latest victim comes as Pakistan posted the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the last 20 days, with eight people succumbing to the virus in a single day, National Institute of Health, Islamabad's (NIH) data showed Thursday morning.

As per the latest stats, the COVID-19 positivity rate in Pakistan stands at 3.65%. As many as 761 new COVID-19 infections were detected after testing on 20,843 samples, taking the country's total coronavirus case count to 1,552,632.

Zardari's daughter, Bakhtawar Bhutto, said that when he landed in Dubai a four days back, his PCR was positive, but now his symptoms were mild — and he is resting.

"Thank u 4 your prayers & remind everyone to remain precautions," she said.

Zardari was among the top-tier politicians who urged people to wear masks and got himself vaccinated against the virus. Several politicians, including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, and others have also contracted COVID.