AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik's oxygen saturation drops; treatment in Delhi a possibility

On Monday, August 24, Goa CM Pramod Sawant revealed that the oxygen saturation of AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik had dropped since the morning. While Naik had opted for home isolation after testing positive for the novel coronavirus on August 12, he was admitted to the Manipal Hospital two days later. Sawant informed the media that a team of AIIMS doctors arriving from Delhi would decide on whether the AYUSH Minister needs to be shifted to the national capital for further treatment. 

Naik's ministerial colleagues Amit Shah, Dharmendra Pradhan, Kailash Choudhary, Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Gajendra Shekhawat were also diagnosed with COVID-19.  Leading politicians and constitutional functionaries such as Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, and former President Pranab Mukherjee have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Currently, there are 31,06,348 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in India out of which 23,38,035 patients have recovered while 57,542 fatalities have been reported. 

Read: Self-collected Saliva As Good As Deep Nasal Swabs For Diagnosing COVID-19: Study

Naik's health condition

Initially, Naik stated that he was asymptomatic and advised the people who came in contact with him in the last few days to get themselves tested for COVID-19. After being admitted to the hospital, he was reportedly given a dose of Remdesivir. As he did not show improvement, he was administered plasma therapy. Speaking to the media on August 21, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane opined that Naik had returned from the "doors of death". He prayed for the speedy recovery of the AYUSH Minister. 

Read: Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan Inaugurates COVID-19 Hospital In Ghaziabad

COVID-19 crisis in India

At present, there are 7,10,771 active cases. With  57,469 COVID-19 patients getting cured in the last 24 hours, the country's recovery rate stands at nearly 75.27%. Moreover, the difference between the recovered and active cases has soared to 16,27,264. Meanwhile, the case fatality rate has dipped to 1.85%. After 6,09,917 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, the number of tests done in India has increased to 3,59,02,137. The number of COVID-19 testing labs rose to 1520 including 984 labs in the government sector and 536 private labs. 

Read: Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India's Cases Cross 31-lakh Mark; 57,468 Recoveries In 24 Hrs