COVID +ve AYUSH minister won't be shifted to Delhi, health is improving: Manipal Hospital

Dr Shekhar Salkar of Manipal Hospital on Tuesday said that the medical condition of Union Minister for AYUSH Shripad Naik is better and he will not be shifted to Delhi. Naik, who tested positive for the novel Coronavirus on August 12 is receiving treatment in Manipal Hospital.

Earlier on Monday,  Goa CM Pramod Sawant revealed that the oxygen saturation of AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik had dropped since morning. 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. 

Updating about Naik's health condition, Dr Salkar told ANI, "He is better from yesterday. Although his lungs are week and require oxygen for a long time. AIIMS doctors have examined his (Naik) condition and are happy with the treatment. After their advice, he will not be shifted to Delhi but will take time to recover," said Dr Salkar.

A senior doctor of AIIMS will be deputed to look after his health, he added.

Shripad Naik's son Siddhesh Naik also confirmed the above and said, "My father's health condition is better and stable now. There is no need to shif him to Delhi."

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. 

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

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: Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India's recovery rate at 75.92%; DK Shivakumar test positive