Panaji, Aug 26 (IANS): Union Minister of State for Defence and AYUSH will continue to be on high flow nasal oxygen treatment for the next "three to four days", but his health is improving, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday.
The Chief Minister also said that the health of four MLAs, namely former Chief Ministers Churchill Alemao and Ravi Naik, former deputy Chief Minister Sudin Dhavalikar and BJP MLA Nilkanth Halarnkar, all whom have tested positive for Covid is improving.
"Union AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik has been admitted in hospital for the last 14 days. The team from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has visited him for the second time today. They have examined him and have opined that he does not need to be taken to AIIMS Delhi for treatment," Sawant told reporters.
"His health has improved further today. He is once again on high flow nasal oxygen. It will be required for another three to four days for him to be transferred to normal oxygen again. He is doing very well. His health is improving. I am hopeful that his health will improve further," the Chief Minister said.
On Monday, Naik's health parameters had slipped, but according to doctors treating him, Naik's oxygen saturation levels -- a key indicator for Covid-19 patients -- had stabilised since.
Sawant also said that the team of doctors from AIIMS which has been camping in Goa to oversee Naik's treatment, also examined two MLAs -- Alemao and Dhavalikar -- who are currently admitted to a private hospital near Panaji.
"Both MLAs Churchill Alemao as well as MLA Sudin Dhavalikar were examined by the AIIMS team. They also offered treatment suggestions to other patients with complications," Sawant said. The two other MLAs Nilkanth Halarnkar and Ravi Naik are currently in home isolation, he said.
The Chief Minister also said that inputs provided by the AIIMS team to the state Health Ministry Covid management staff "would definitely help" the state.