DMK MLA J Anbazhagan treated for COVID-19 in critical condition, says hospital

The 61-year old legislator's health, which saw improvement with oxygen requirement sliding to half, deteriorated on Monday, Dr Rela institute and Medical Centre said.

"...since today evening there has been a significant deterioration of his condition.His oxygen requirement has gone up once again and his cardiac function also is deteriorating requiring medicine support for blood pressure. "His existing chronic kidney disease is also worsening.

His condition currently is described as critical," CEO of the hospital Dr Ilankumaran Kaliamoorthy said in a statement. 

On Tuesday last, Anbazhagan, who is among the party district secretaries in the state capital and a senior functionary, complained of severe acute respiratory distress and tested positive for coronavirus on admission.

Initially, he was managed with high flow oxygen therapy through facemask and he was put on ventilator support on June 3 as his respiratory distress worsened, the hospital said. At a time when he was being gradually weaned off from the ventilator, his condition deteriorated, it said.

State Health Minister C Vijayabaskar on Friday visited the corporate hospital and its chairman Dr Mohamed Rela and assured full government support for treating the MLA. DMK President M K Stalin also had visited the hospital the following day and enquired about Anbazhagan's health.

The MLA represents Chepauk-Triplicane constituency in the city and had undergone a liver transplant about 15 years ago.