Covid-infected and critically-ill Education Minister Jagarnath Mahto is facing minor difficulty in breathing but he is talking to visitors and also reading newspapers, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said on Saturday, minutes after meeting Mahto at Bhagwan Mahavir Medica Superspecialty Hospital in Ranchi. Mahto’s condition, Soren said, was improving gradually.
Soren along with health minister Banna Gupta visited the hospital on Saturday afternoon and sought updates on Mahto’s condition from a team of doctors treating him in the private healthcare facility. A special team of doctors from state-run Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) has been constituted to advise the doctors treating Mahto in Medica, officials from Medica said.
During his meeting with the doctors, Soren directed them to closely monitor all the changes in Mahto’s health condition and provide regular updates to the government. After his meeting with the doctors, the chief minister said that the government was planning to send Mahto outside Ranchi for better treatment but doctors suggested that he should undergo treatment here itself, as he was not fit to travel.
“Our education minister has been undergoing treatment in this hospital for 10 days, and his condition is gradually improving,” said Soren. “He is still facing minor difficulty in breathing, but he is talking to visitors and also reading newspapers,” Soren added.
The chief minister said that Mahto was getting the best possible treatment in Ranchi. And any facility that is available in the metro cities will be provided to Mahto here itself as he has been asked not to travel, Soren added.
“Before being admitted to Medica, he (Mahto) was undergoing treatment at RIMS. Although he has shown improvement, the pace of recovery is quite slow,” said Soren.
Mahto was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Medica on October 1 and put on a non-invasive ventilator. The oxygen level in his blood had gone down to 65mm Hg, while normal reading is expected to be between 75mm Hg to 100mm Hg.
Dr. Vijay Mishra, who has been treating Mahto at Medica, said that the oxygen level in his blood has improved marginally, but it was still lower than optimum. “We are providing the standard treatment that would be given to him in any other hospital in the country. And he is responding to it,” said Mishra.
Mahto is among five ministers who have been infected by the virus so far. State minority welfare minister Haji Hussain Ansari died hours after recovering from Covid-19 last week. Besides, Health minister Banna Gupta, Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Mithilesh Thakur and Agriculture minister Badal have recovered from the infection without showing severe symptoms.