Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain who is battling COVID-19, was on Friday shifted to the ICU of Max hospital here from a city government facility after his condition deteriorated, sources said.
The 55-year-old minister has been diagnosed with pneumonia and his oxygen saturation level has also dipped, prompting hospital authorities to shift him to an intensive care unit.
"He was brought to Max hospital in the evening and admitted in ICU," a source said.
Jain had tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, a dedicated COVID-19 facility, after running high-grade fever and suffering sudden drop in oxygen levels.
"We have now sent him to Max Hospital," a hospital source said.
According to doctors treating him, Jain was kept full-time on oxygen support as his oxygen saturation level (Spo2) had dipped.
"We have put him fully on oxygen support as his Spo2 level had fallen to 89 at one point, normal level is about 95. Also, he has been diagnosed with pneumonia, so we decided to shift him to an ICU at the hospital," a senior official of the hospital told PTI earlier in the day.
However, later it was decided to send him directly to the Max Hospital, he said.
Jain had tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to RGSSH after running high-grade fever and suffering sudden drop in oxygen levels.
Jain was brought to the RGSSH in the early hours of Tuesday and was administered a test for novel coronavirus infection that morning, for which he had tested negative.
His test was repeated on Wednesday as he still had fever and showed symptoms of the infection. The second test result came out positive.
Sources in the Delhi government had on Wednesday said people who interacted with him in the days before his hospitalisation would be quarantined as per the advice of doctors.
On Sunday, Jain attended a high-level meeting on the coronavirus situation in the national capital, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, which was also attended by Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.
