Post-COVID-19 recovery, Union minister Naik to resume Delhi office next week

Over a month after he recovered from COVID-19, Union minister Shripad Naik on Friday said he would resume his office in New Delhi from next week.

Naik, who hails from Goa, has been working from his private residence-cum-office near Panaji ever since he got discharge from a private hospital on September 12 after undergoing treatment for a month.

The Union Minister of State for AYUSH (independent charge) and Defence had undergone treatment at Manipal Hospital with the assistance of the teams from the state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

"I am resuming my work in New Delhi offices of Defence and AYUSH ministries from coming Monday (October 26). The doctors, who were treating me, have certified that I am fit to travel to Delhi," Naik told PTI.

He said he would be working half day in each of the offices (Defence and AYUSH) in New Delhi as there are "some important files to be cleared".

When asked whether he would join the campaign for the upcoming elections in Bihar, Naik said the party leadership is yet to tell him about it.

"Whether I am part of the campaign will be known once I reach Delhi," he said.

The minister, who suffered lung infection due to COVID-19, said that after one month, he would be able to travel everywhere, including the high altitude areas.

"I am taking all the post-COVID medicines and doing exercises regularly. It is important that we don't give up after testing positive," he said.

Responding to a query that he got infected despite taking preventive Ayurvedic medicines, Naik said that during the pandemic, he was reaching out to people to help them, due to which he contracted the infection.