Soumitra Chatterjee shifted to ITU following breathing distress

Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee

, who has been in a city hospital after testing positive for COVID, was shifted to the ITU on Friday after facing breathing distress. A source close to the actor said, “His blood pressure has dropped too. The veteran actor is on oxygen support and is being observed. The breathing distress is not yet a major one. But considering his comorbidities and his age, he has been shifted to ICU so that doctors can screen him better.”

Soumitra was admitted to a private hospital on Tuesday morning. He was down with fever initially. On Monday he tested positive for Covid 19.

Meanwhile, his family members -- wife, son and daughter -- have tested negative.

Soumitra was shooting for Sandip Sarkar’s web series, Next, in the last week of September. After

the Bombay High Court

had allowed all persons above 65 years of age in the entertainment industry to work on a film set, Soumitra shot for Parambrata Chatterjee’s Abhijaan. The actor had told

Calcutta Times

from the sets, “The virus will be lurking around till there is a vaccine. And that can take months. We can’t stay away from work for that long. After all, it’s a matter of survival.”