Merely a day after Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar tested positive for Covid-19, more than 40 crew members working on his new film, Ram Setu, have also caught the virus, local media reports.
This coincides with India's Ministry of Health announcing a new national record of 103,558 coronavirus cases in one day, taking its total to 12.59 million.
The Indian-born Canadian actor, 53, announced on Sunday via Twitter that he had tested positive for the virus.
"Following all the protocols, I have immediately isolated myself," he wrote.
"I'm under home quarantine and have sought necessary medical care. I would sincerely request all those that have come in contact with me to get themselves tested and take care."
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) April 4, 2021
Despite his promise that he would be "back in action very soon", on Monday, Kumar took to Twitter again to announce he had been hospitalised as a "precautionary measure".
Kumar, alongside co-stars Jacqueline Fernandez and Nushrat Bharucha, recently began filming at Mumbai's Madh Island for new drama Ram Setu, about an archaeologist who sets out to explore whether the Ram Setu bridge is a myth or a reality.
Among 100 crew members, 45 have been infected, according to news agency Press Trust of India. This includes five people from Kumar's make-up team.
"Now the shooting has been halted indefinitely," B N Tiwari, president of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, told PTI.
Bharucha and Fernandez have also gone into self-isolation as a precautionary measure, according to The Indian Express.
On Monday it was also announced that the April 30 release of another new film starring Kumar, Sooryavanshi, has been postponed indefinitely because of the rising number of cases in Maharashtra. The action-thriller, directed by Rohit Shetty, was originally meant to come out on March 24, 2020, but was pushed back because of the pandemic.
First day of #ramsetu 🙏🏻🙏🏻 extremely honored to be part of this prestigious film! Thanks to the ace photographer @akshaykumar for capturing this moment ❤️❤️ #ramsetu @akshaykumar@Nushrratt@Abundantia_Ent@LycaProductions@PrimeVideoIN@vikramix @ShikhaaSharma03 pic.twitter.com/eO0lfw7nKY
— Jacqueline Fernandez (@Asli_Jacqueline) April 3, 2021
A number of Bollywood stars have tested positive recently, including Aamir Khan, Paresh Rawal, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor and Fatima Sana Shaikh.
On Monday, Mr Lele co-stars Bhumi Pednekar and Vicky Kaushal also announced they'd caught the virus. The film's shoot has now been halted.
On Tuesday, actress Katrina Kaif, who is set to star alongside Kumar in Sooryavanshi, also announced she had Covid-19 and had "immediately" isolated herself.
#KatrinaKaif tests positive for #COVID19 . Here's wishing her a speedy recovery! pic.twitter.com/NzSkYqX9dz
— BombayTimes (@bombaytimes) April 6, 2021
