Coronavirus-afflicted J'khand minister flown to Chennai for better treatment

Jharkhand Education Minister Jagarnath Mahato, who is in a critical condition after contracting COVID-19, was flown to Chennai in an air ambulance on Monday for better treatment, officials said.

Jharkhand Education Minister Jagarnath Mahato, who is in a critical condition after contracting COVID-19, was flown to Chennai in an air ambulance on Monday for better treatment, officials said. Mahato will undergo treatment at MGM Hospital in Chennai, they said.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Animal Husbandry Minister Badal Patralekh were present at Ranchi Airport while Mahato was being flown to Chennai, the official said. "He was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Ranchi but as there was no improvement in his condition, he was shifted to Chennai for better treatment, as per doctors' advice," Soren said.

"Mahato is still afflicted with the disease and has a severe lung infection," Health Department Principal Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni told PTI. The education minister's condition had worsened on Sunday, prompting Soren to call three doctors from MGM Hospital for his treatment.

"The doctors from the Chennai hospital examined Mahato and suggested taking him to the southern metropolis. They went with the education minister in the air ambulance," Dr Anand Prakash, advisor to the Ranchi hospital where he was being treated, said. Mahato had tested positive for COVID-19 on September 28 and was initially admitted to state-run Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), from where he was shifted to a private hospital in the city on October 1, after he complained of breathlessness.