By PTI
SAGAR/HYDERABAD: A 40-year-old pulmonologist infected with COVID-19 was airlifted to Hyderabad from Bhopal on Monday morning for further treatment after an intervention by the Madhya Pradesh government, a doctor treating him in Sagar said.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan asked officials to arrange an air ambulance to send Dr Satyendra Mishra, working at a state-run medical college, to Hyderabad after his condition deteriorated at a city hospital, a BJP MLA said.
Dr Mishra (40) had developed severe lung infection after testing positive for COVID-19, the doctor treating him in Sagar said.
Janmejay Mishra, brother of the ailing pulmonologist,said Dr Mishra was admitted to Yashoda Hospital in Secunderabad and is being supplied oxygen.
“As he needs lung transplantation, he is presently kept under observation. Doctors told us that they will observe him for three days before taking a decision on the future course of treatment,” Mishra told PTI.
He said doctors at the hospital had told him that his brother may be put on a ventilator on Tuesday.
Dr Saurabh Jain, who was treating the ailing physician in Bhagyoday Hospital, a private facility in Sagar, said a team of doctors from Hyderabad reached the city around midnight on Sunday and examined the condition of Dr Mishra.
Dr Mishra is an assistant professor in the pulmonary and tuberculosis department in government-run Bundelkhand Medical College here.
At around 5 am on Monday, Dr Mishra was taken to Bhopal, about 185 km from Sagar, by road after a green corridor was created with the help of police to facilitate hassle-free travel of the vehicle carrying him, he said.
From Bhopal, Dr Mishra was airlifted to Hyderabad where he is under treatment at a hospital, Dr Saurabh Jain said.
The COVID-19 infection has severely damaged Dr Mishra’s lungs and he needs a transplant, he said.
Sagar BJP MLA Shailendra Jain said the Chief Minister had directed officials to arrange the air ambulance after he was informed about Dr Mishra’s deteriorating health.
Dr Mishra got infected with coronavirus during his duty in the COVID-19 ward of the medical college, the legislator said.