RANCHI: School education and literacy minister Jagarnath Mahto, who was tested positive for COVID-19 on September 28 and was admitted to a hospital in Ranchi, has been put on the ventilator after his condition deteriorated.
Doctors, however, claimed that some positive changes have been observed on Sunday.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren visited Mahto in the hospital and took stock of the situation. Soren said that the possibilities of shifting the minister to any higher medical facility are being explored. But the final call will be taken after the visit of experts from Chennai on Monday.
“We have requested the team of experts in Chennai to come today itself looking at the poor health conditions of the minister,” said CM Soren. The final decision for shifting him to Chennai will be taken by them only after a through checkup, Soren added.
Notably, after being tested positive for COVID-19, the education minister was admitted to the COVID-19 centre on September 28 but was further referred to the Ranchi Medical Hospital on October 1 looking at his deteriorating health conditions.
Mahto had hit the headlines recently for gifting cards to state toppers of Class 10 and Class 12 examinations. The minister, who himself is pursuing his schooling at the moment, also promised to adopt toppers from the next year so that they can finish their studies without any hurdle.
The education minister, a matriculate, had also surprised everyone by taking admission to Nawadih Devi Mahto Inter School in Bokaro, a school set up by him in 2006 after becoming MLA for the first time in 2005.