Expelled AIADMK leader V K Sasikala was discharged from Victoria Hospital shortly after 12 pm on Sunday, where she had been admitted for Covid-19 over a week ago.
Dr Smitha Segu, Nodal officer for Covid-19 at Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) said that Sasikala was discharged without a Covid-19 test as per protocol.
“She is absolutely fine and is not manifesting any symptoms of the disease. She had been maintaining saturation without oxygen for three days,” Dr Smitha said.
Sources said that she will spend the next day at the Prestige Golfshire resort in Bengaluru before moving on to complete her home quarantine in Chennai. However, her nephew TTV Dhinakaran told broadcast media that she will stay there in quarantine for seven days.
BMCRI clarified that Sasikala is supposed to self-quarantine for the next 14 days.
Sasikala was initially admitted to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital on January 20, after she complained of breathlessness and fever. However, she was moved to Victoria Hospital after she was diagnosed with Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI). A CT thorax scan confirmed the SARI diagnosis and a Covid-19 test revealed that she had disease.
Convicted in February 2017 for a period of four years for her involvement in a Rs 66 cr disproportionate assets case, Sasikala was formally released by prison officials on January 27.
Sasikala’s discharge was carried out in the presence of BMCRI staff and a large force of more than 300 police personnel deployed outside the hospital.