CPM leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee hospitalised with COVID-19 as condition deteriorates

West Bengal’s former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who had tested positive for COVID-19 last week, was admitted at a private hospital in south Kolkata on Tuesday after his health condition deteriorated, officials said. Later in the afternoon, his wife Mira Bhattacharjee, who was discharged from the facility on Monday after she had recovered from coronavirus, was rushed to the medical establishment following a panic attack, they said. “Mr. Bhattacharjee’s oxygen saturation level slipped below 90 percent this morning, following which doctors advised him to get admitted to a medical facility. He has been kept under observation in the CCU where he has been put on BiPAP. His oxygen saturation is maintaining at 92 per cent,” an official said. The 77-year-old politician is a patient of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and needs to go to a hospital for clinical examinations. “Bhattacharjee is conscious, alert, and communicating verbally. His blood pressure and pulse are stable, and urine output is satisfactory. The former chief minister has drowsiness and shortness of breath,” the official said. Doctors conducted CT scans and necessary blood tests. “Doctors are on constant vigil and will take appropriate measures from time to time,” the official of the hospital said. The former chief minister, one of the most senior leaders of the CPM was not willing to go to a hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19 on May 18. His wife had also contracted the disease last week and was admitted at the medical establishment. She was discharged from the facility on Monday after she tested negative for the infection. “Mrs. Bhattacharjee was alone at home after the former chief minister was admitted to the hospital in the afternoon. She was having a panic attack following which her health condition deteriorated a bit and we took her to the hospital. We cannot take any chances,” the official said.