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Italy’s Former Prime Minister Berlusconi Tests Positive for COVID-19

Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, a longtime sports and media tycoon, is asymptomatic and isolating at home.

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s former prime minister, has tested positive for coronavirus, his spokesperson said. At 83, Berlusconi falls into a high-risk category that makes him particularly vulnerable to the effects of the virus. However, Football Italia reports Berlusconi is asymptomatic and in self-isolation at home. The leader of the center-right Forza Italia party, Berlusconi intends to continue campaigning for the party’s candidates, supporting them with daily media interviews. A longtime media and sports tycoon, Berlusconi also controls Mediaset, a commercial broadcast network, and the A.C. Monza football team. Berlusconi became infamous for his so-called “bunga bunga” sex parties, according to USA Today, and was ultimately acquitted of paying for sex with a sex-trafficked underage girl. He has previously been convicted of tax fraud.