Former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya was admitted to a hospital in Kolkata on Tuesday after his health condition deteriorated, reported PTI, citing officials. He had tested positive for the coronavirus on May 18.

A doctor at the private hospital said that Bhattacharya’s oxygen level dropped below 90% after which he was advised to get admitted to a medical facility. The 77-year-old Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader had been in home isolation. He had refused to get admitted after contracting the infection, according to the news agency.

Bhattacharya has not been well for the past few years. He suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and needs to go to hospitals for other clinical examinations. He was admitted to a hospital in December for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Bhattacharya’s wife Mira Bhattacharya had also tested positive for the coronavirus last week and was admitted to a hospital. She was discharged on Monday after testing negative.

Meanwhile, India on Tuesday reported 1,96,427 new coronavirus cases, taking the infection tally to 2,69,48,874 since the pandemic first broke out in December 2019. This is the first occasion since April 15 that the single-day rise in cases has come under two lakh. The toll climbed by 3,511 to 3,07,231. The number of active cases in the country stood at 25,86,782.

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