At least 53 journalists, with the majority belonging to a television news channel, in Mumbai have tested positive for the new coronavirus.

Of the 167 journalists tested by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation over the weekend, every third tested positive.

In a televised news conference, Joint Secretary of Health Ministry Luv Aggarwal called the development unfortunate and stressed the need to stay indoors unless it was absolutely necessary to step out.

“We strongly request all journalists to follow protection during their call of duty. We will be following the sampling criteria - anyone who needs to be tested will be tested”, - he said.

Most of the journalists testing positive are asymptomatic cases.

The cases came into light after a senior journalist in the city, Ashok Bagriya, tweeted that an entire team had tested positive. He asked media houses to facilitate journalists.

“The journalists were examined by BMC. Delhi should follow the lead, it is important to tests journalists on the field. Will the media houses now pay for the medical expenses, loss of work, and mental trauma caused to the journalists and their families?”, - he tweeted.