Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee still critical

Legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee, who is in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus, remained "critical" on Tuesday though his health condition improved a little in the afternoon prompting doctors to put on hold invasive ventilation.

The 85-year-old thespian, who has several comorbidities including prostatic carcinoma and probable lung metastasis, was administered oxygen therapy, docgtors treating him said.

He is haemodynamically stable and not on medication to raise low blood pressure. "Following it we have decided to keep a hold on invasive airway protection," they said.

There is marginal improvement in Chatterjee's neurological status and no structural neurological abnormality was detected in his NCCT brain and MRI.

He, however, continues to be restless, arousable, has mild agitation and involuntary limb movements but no focal or generalised seizure event occurred, the doctors said. "Chatterjee is still in a confusional state which is progressive in nature with COVID-related encephalopathy and metabolic encephalopathy (brain disease)," they said.

The critically acclaimed actor, who has the rare distinction of having worked with maestros Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha and Tarun Mazumdar, was admitted to a private hospital here on October 6 after he tested positive for COVID-19.

He had to be shifted to the ITU as his condition turned critical. A team of 15 doctors is overseeing him at the hospital.

The Dada Saheb Phalke awardee has been running high fever since Sunday afternoon. Doctors are planning to conduct another test to check if the high fever was due to the COVID- 19 infection.

His daughter Poulomi Basu said in a statement, "My father is doing marginally better, he is slightly more stable, there has been improvement if only 1 per cent.

"He was removed from BI-PAP support this morning ... As of now the doctors are not considering invasive ventilation," the statement said.