Berlusconi's girlfriend and two children also positive for Covid-19

Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi's girlfriend and two of his five children have also tested positive for the coronavirus, Italian news reports said Thursday.

Partner Marta Fascina, 30, and children Luigi and Eleonora, aged 31 and 36 respectively, are self-isolating in the same villa in Arcore, near Milan, as Berlusconi, the ANSA and Adnkronos news agencies said.

Berlusconi's relationship with Fascina, who is 53 years younger, became official earlier this year. She is a lawmaker for his conservative Forza Italia party.

Berlusconi's positive test results were announced Wednesday by a Forza Italia spokesman. The party did not make any official comment about other members of the Berlusconi household.

The 83-year-old politician is said to have no virus symptoms and is campaigning remotely for September 20-21 regional and local elections.

"This also happened to me but I am not giving up the fight," Forza Italia quoted its leader as saying on social media, adding, "We are all with Silvio!"

According to Adnkronos, Berlusconi was set to phone-in at a Forza Italia campaign event later Thursday in the north-western city of Genoa.

The ex-premier is suspected to have caught the coronavirus while staying at his holiday residence in Sardinia. The island has developed several virus clusters in recent weeks.

During the peak of the pandemic in Italy, Berlusconi secluded himself in a villa in southern France, returning to his country only in late June.