Speaker K. Sreeramakrishnan, who had tested positive for COVID-19 last Saturday, was moved to the ICU in Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College hospital on Tuesday after he developed pneumonia. He was under home quarantine earlier.
While Mr. Sreeramakrishnan is not on supplemental oxygen in the ICU, his general condition remains stable and satisfactory, hospital sources said.
Doctors said that though he had broncho pneumonia, his CT Chest severity score was just 7 and that his oxygen saturation was currently satisfactory.
Pneumonia is a known complication of COVID-19, with some 15% of those with the pandemic developing the condition.
Since Mr. Sreeramakrishnan has been under treatment for cardiac problems too, doctors took the additional caution and mvoed him to the ICU for continuous monitoring because COVID-19 symptoms, which often seem mild, have a way of aggravating unexpectedly.
A medical board has been set up at MCH to take charge of his treatment.