ROME: Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus, has been hospitalised "as a precaution", a statement from his entourage said Friday.
It said the media tycoon was taken to San Raffaele hospital in Milan on Thursday night after suffering "certain symptoms", but there was "no cause for concern."
The AGI news agency said Berlusconi, who turns 84 at the end of this month, was hospitalised in a room that he often occupies when he stays at the facility. AGI said this indicates that his condition is not serious, or he would be in intensive care.
Licia Ronzulli, a senator with Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, said the former prime minister "spent the night in hospital to check on his condition... but he is fine."
Berlusconi announced Wednesday that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus and was in quarantine at home.
Two of his children - daughter Barbara, 36, and son Luigi, 31 - have also contracted the virus, as has his companion Marta Fascina.
Berlusconi, who once owned AC Milan, had insisted on Wednesday that he would continue his political activities.
"I will be present in the electoral campaign with interviews on televisions and in newspapers," he said during a video-conference of Forza Italia's women's movement.
He recognised "the limitations imposed on my activities by testing positive for the coronavirus... but I will continue the battle."
Regional elections are due to take place in two weeks as well as a referendum on reducing the number of Italian parliamentarians.