Shripad Naik has lung infection, but stable: Goa CM after AIIMS review

PANAJI: Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant said Ayush minister Shripad Naik has developed “lung infection” but was “stable” and a team of experts from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), who arrived in Goa on Monday night, have decided not to shift him to Delhi “for now”.
Naik, who is also the junior defence minister, has been undergoing treatment at a private hospital after he tested positive for Covid-19 on August 12.
“The condition of Ayush minister is stable. The team from AIIMS is satisfied with the line of treatment. He has developed an infection in his lungs. The AIIMS doctors are staying overnight and monitoring him. They will again take a review on Tuesday and decide on the future course of action,” Sawant said.
The AIIMS team was air dashed to Goa after Naik’s oxygen saturation level dropped in the morning and had come prepared to medically evacuate him if needed.
A senior doctor at Manipal Hospital, where Naik is being treated, said the Ayush minister had tested negative for Covid-19 on Monday when he underwent the TrueNat test, but his CT scan showed advancement of the infection.
“The expert team from AIIMS is monitoring the minister in the hospital. Naik will undergo further tests including RT-PCR, on Tuesday and the AIIMS experts will then decide on the future course of treatment. His condition had deteriorated earlier in the day,” Goa Medical College dean S M Bandekar said.
The Manipal Hospital doctor said as soon as Naik’s oxygen levels started dropping, he was placed on a non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and his condition had shown improvement.
“The oxygen saturation level is fluctuating between 96.2 and 98%, but we have to see how he responds in the next 24 hours. There are limitations of NIV,” he said.
Naik, who was critical last week, was administered complacent plasma therapy and had shown marked improvement. AIIMS experts, who had visited Goa and reviewed his case, had also expressed satisfaction about the line of treatment followed for Naik.
Health minister Vishwajit Rane had said last week that it was only due to plasma therapy that they were able to save Naik.