BENGALURU: VK Sasikala - the jailed close associate of former Tamil Nadu chief minister Late J Jayalalithaa has tested positive for COVID-19. She has been shifted to the trauma care centre (TCC) at the Victoria Hospital, which is exclusively for COVID patients. “She is not on ventilator support. We are closely monitoring her,” said Director cum Dean of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), Dr CR Jayanthi.
Sasikala, who was keenly looking forward to return to Chennai on her release from the prison on January 27 will now have to stay put in Bengaluru until her complete recovery. Her COVID positive result has
thrown the prison authorities at the Bengaluru Central Prison in a tizzy. “We don’t know how she contracted the virus. She is sharing a room with co accused and sister-in-law Ilavarasi in the prison, which
is in a high security block,” said sources in the prison department.
Sasikala was on Thursday shifted to Victoria Hospital from Bowring Hospital for CT scan as the latter doesn’t have the facility. She was being treated for suspected severe acute respiratory infection (SARI)
after her rapid antigen and RTPCR tests for COVID at the Bowring Hospital had come negative.
Victoria Hospital had repeated her RTPCR test to confirm her COVID-19 status after her CT scan of the chest indicated 'severe' infection and showed “areas of ground glass opacity and consolidation in bilateral lung fields,” stated the medical bulletin of Sasikala’s health from he Victoria Hospital. “She has dry cough and is breathless. She has been put on oxygen and is being closely monitored,” the hospital sources had stated.
Sasikala’s oxygen saturation level at the time of admission in the morning was 78 per cent. It had marginally improved by the evening. “She has been put on Remdesivir, Heparin, steroids, insulin and other supportive drugs. She suffers from diabetes, hypertension and hypothyroidism,” the hospital stated.
In the morning Sasikala’s nephew and founder of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) TTV Dhinakaran along with some other relatives and party well-wishers had come to the Bowring Hospital to visit her. They demanded that she should be shifted to a premium private hospital for better treatment and care but were assured of quality treatment at the premium government hospital.
She has been lodged in judicial custody at the Bengaluru Central Prison along with J Ilavarasi and nephew VN Sudhakaran since February, 2017 after they were convicted and sentenced with four-year imprisonment in the disproportionate assets (DA) case.