It said the media tycoon was taken to San Raffaele hospital in Milan on Thursday night after suffering “certain symptons”, but there was “no cause for concern.”
Berlusconi and his children tested positive for the virus on Wednesday, becoming the latest among Italy's super rich to be hit after holidaying along
Sardinia's glamorous Emerald Coast.
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.”
Two of his children – daughter Barbara, 36, and son Luigi, 31 – have also contracted the virus, as has his companion Marta Fascina.
READ ALSO: Is Italy really heading for a coronavirus second wave?
Berlusconi, the scandal-hit politician who once owned AC Milan, had said on Wednesday that he would continue his political activities from his home in Milan.
“I will be present in the electoral campaign with interviews on televisions and in newspapers,” he said during a Forza italia party video conference.
His doctor Alberto Zangrillo said on Wednesday he was “asymptomatic.”
Zangrilio himself was embroiled in controversy in June after claiming that the virus “no longer exists”.
Regional elections are due to take place in two weeks as well as a referendum on reducing the number of Italian parliamentarians.
Berlusconi was first tested on August 25 after returning from a holiday in Sardinia where he owns a luxury villa and estate worth up to 470 million euros.
The result was negative, but he was tested again after friends in the area were found to be positive.
These included businessman Flavio Briatore, former managing director of the Benetton Formula One racing team, who was briefly hospitalised in Milan.
READ ALSO:
Part of the closed “Billionaire resort in Sardinia closed due to Covid-19. Photo: AFP
One of the best-known hangouts for the rich and famous is the “Le Billionaire” nightclub, part of a resort which belongs to Italian businessman and former
managing director of the Benetton Formula One racing team Flavio Briatore.
The nightclub was closed down in August after Briatore and employees tested positive for the coronavirus.
Ten days before, Briatore met Berlusconi at his home along the same coastline, according to local news reports.
Several other celebrities spotted at the nightclub also tested positive for Covid-19, including Bologna football club manager Sinisa Mihajlovic – who
underwent treatment for leukaemia last year – reports said.
Local television personalities, some 10 footballers, a boxer and one politician were also infected, the Corriere della Sera reported.
Berlusconi left for France in late February, at a time when Italy was becoming the epicentre of Covid-19 in Europe.
Forza Italia number two Antonio Tajani said at the time that doctors had warned the political veteran to actively avoid becoming infected.
One of the best-known hangouts for the rich and famous is the “Le Billionaire” nightclub, part of a resort which belongs to Italian businessman and former
managing director of the Benetton Formula One racing team Flavio Briatore.
The nightclub was closed down in August after Briatore and employees tested positive for the coronavirus.
READ ALSO:
More than 35,500 people have died in Italy – the first country in Europe to be hit by a major outbreak – the latest government figures said on Friday. The country, where almost 273,000 cases have been reported, emerged in May from a strict two-month lockdown.
Berlusconi's hospitalisation marks his return to the San Raffaele facility where he has been receiving treatment for years.
In the spring of 2019, he was operated on for an intestinal obstruction at the same facility where he underwent open-heart surgery in June 2016.
Berlusconi, known for his penchant for younger women and wild parties, in the past used his vitality as a political argument.
“Even as we grow older, we do not shrink from the responsibilities to which we have been called and which life continues to impose on us,” he said in 2016.
“Basically we are not really 80, but four times 20,” he said.
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