Nellore: Retired headmaster Kotaiah from Nellore district, who claimed that he had recovered from COVID-19 after taking the ‘miracle’ medicine of Bonige Anandaiah from Krishnapatnam village, died on Monday.
Sources in the Government General Hospital in Nellore confirmed that Kotaiah died in the morning as his lungs were damaged beyond treatment. “He was suffering from several co-morbidities and he had a CT severity score of above 20 at the time of admission,” the hospital sources said.
Kotaiah, who hails from Kota mandal of Nellore district, was the first person who endorsed that he had come out of the pangs of death after being administered eye drops by Anandaiah.
The video recording of his statement went viral in the social media and brought huge popularity to Anandaiah resulting in thousands of people thronging the village. Subsequently, the state government stopped the distribution of Krishnapatnam medicine pending reports from various labs and experts.
Supporters of Anandaiah said that Kotaiah’s death cannot be attributed to the ayurvedic doctor’s medicine.
“Kotaiah had initially come for his eye infection, after being cured of COVID-19. His oxygen levels improved. However, he developed complications such as infection in the lungs and breathing issues after being admitted into the hospital. Rumors that Kotaiah died because of Anandaih’s medicine are false,” a volunteer and supporter of Anandaiah’s medicine said in a video.
AP government approves Anandaiah’s medicine
Incidentally, it was only on Monday that the state government gave the green signal for the distribution of Krishnapatnam medicine by Anandaiah to the COVID-19 patients. The state high court also gave its approval to the distribution of the medicine.
According to an official statement from the chief minister’s office, the decision to allow the distribution of Krishanpatnam medicine was taken following the report given by the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), of the Department of Ayush, Government of India.
The reports on the eye drops are still awaited and it might take another two to three weeks to get the reports. Till such time, Anandaiah should not administer eye drops.
The CMO statement said all the reports so far have revealed that there is no harm with the medicine being distributed by Anandaiah. However, no report has given any certification that the Nellore medicine is an effective cure for Covid-19.
The state government has also clarified that just because a person uses the Nellore medicine, he should not stop other Allopathic medicines being administered for COVID-19. “One has to continue the medicines prescribed by the doctors for the virus. Taking Anandaiah’s medicine is only optional,” the CMO release said.
The state government has also directed that no Covid-19 positive patients should come to Krishnapatnam to take the Anandaiah medicine, since it would result in spread of the virus.
However, the government would allow relatives of the COVID-19 patients to take the Anandaiah medicine on their behalf, in order to prevent spread of the infection. They should strictly follow COVID-19 protocols while obtaining the medicine, the government said.