Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, COVID-19 Positive, Hospitalised After Condition Deteriorates

His oxygen level slipped below 90 per cent this morning, following which doctors advised him to get admitted to a medical facility, officials said.

New Delhi: Former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was admitted to a hospital in Kolkata on Tuesday after his health condition deteriorated. The 77-year-old CPI(M) leader had tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) last week. His oxygen level slipped below 90 per cent this morning, following which doctors advised him to get admitted to a medical facility, officials said.

“Bhattacharjee has been in home isolation and put on BiPAP support. Even though his oxygen level dropped below 90. We did not take any chance,” a doctor at the private hospital, where he was admitted, told PTI.

The 77-year-old politician also has the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and frequently visits the hospital for clinical examinations, health department officials said.

Bhattacharjee was not willing to go to the hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19 on May 18. His wife Mira Bhattacharjee had also contracted the disease last week and was admitted to a medical facility in the city. She was discharged from the hospital on Monday after testing negative for the infection.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharya was hospitalised in October last year after he complained of breathlessness and low oxygen count in the blood. He was put on ventilator support and a 13-member medical board was formed for his treatment. At that time, however, he had tested negative for COVID-19.