AYUSH minister Shripad Naik moved from COVID-19 ward of Goa hospital

PANAJI: Union AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik, undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Goa after testing positive for coronavirus, was on Tuesday shifted out of the COVID-19 ward, a health department official said.

A real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test conducted on Naik (67) showed weak positive result after which a decision was taken to move him to the general ward of the hospital, the official said.

Earlier, experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, were consulted on condition of the BJP Lok Sabha MP from North Goa, he said.

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Director of AIIMS Dr Randeep Guleria advised that the minister can be shifted out of the COVID-19 ward and admitted to the general section of the facility, the official said.

Naik was admitted to the private hospital near here on August 12 after he tested positive for coronavirus.

After Naik's health condition deteriorated, a team of AIIMS doctors visited the hospital last week to examine him.

In the last few days, the minister has shown recovery in his health.