Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was on Saturday shifted from the Intensive Care Unit to the normal ward in Apollo Hospital.
The official twitter account of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) tweeted this information. This is the first time that Jayalalithaa has been moved out of the ICU since she was admitted on September 22 with complaints of fever and dehydration.
On Friday, Apollo Hospitals had said that Jayalalithaa's "mental functions are absolutely normal" and that she can leave for home as and when she wants to, but continues to recuperate in the ICU to avoid any infection.
The 68-year-old AIADMK supremo was also "living beautifully" without ventilator, but respiratory support was being given to her periodically to ensure that her lungs don't collapse, Apollo Hospitals Chairman Pratap C Reddy said.
Asked by reporters when Jayalalithaa could resume her official responsibilities, Reddy said "responsibilities at that level is to guide and direct. I suppose that she can do well even now."
"She lives beautifully without ventilator but that has been kept so that the lungs should not collapse. Only for that purpose it is used. She is sleeping normally, eating normal food and increased high-protein diet that her body needs," he said.
"Her mental functions, I can assure you, are absolutely normal," he added.
The Chief Minister can leave the hospital "any time she will want to," Reddy said.
Meanwhile, party Spokesperson Nanchil Sampath said that Jayalalithaa will return home in a few days. "The doctors told me she is all right," he said.
Jayalalithaa was admitted to the hospital on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration. Later, the hospital had said she was being treated for infection, with respiratory support, among others.
Specialists from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi; and from London, have treated her during the period.
Since her hospitalisation, state ministers and AIADMK cadres have been organising special poojas at various temples across the state, praying for her speedy recovery
