A total of 12 patients were discharged from Government Medical College and ESI Hospital after recovering from COVID-19 here on Thursday.
Health Department officials said that all these patients had attended the Delhi religious conference. Out of the 12, nine were from Mettupalayam and three were from Pollachi. The patients were discharged after 14 days of treatment and will be under 14 days of house quarantine after their discharge. With this, 26 patients have been discharged from ESI Hospital so far, officials said.
Apart from the 12, two women – one from Coimbatore city and one from Kinathukadavu – who were admitted with COVID-19 symptoms were also discharged upon testing negative. All the patients were discharged at around 9.30 p.m on Thursday and were sent to their respective residences in private vehicles.
As of Thursday, Coimbatore district saw the confirmation of 127 COVID-19 positive cases.
According to G. Ramesh Kumar, Deputy Director of Health Services (Coimbatore), a COVID-19 patient has to undergo three tests before getting discharged. The swab samples of a recovering patient will be taken on the 13th and 14th day of treatment at the hospital. If both the test results confirm that the patient is negative for COVID-19, an X-ray test will be done to ensure that the patient’s lungs are free of infections. Once the X-ray test is clear, the patient is discharged, Dr. Kumar said. “Though 14 patients were to be discharged [from ESI Hospital on Thursday], two patients did not clear the X-ray test and were not discharged,” he said.
To ensure the mental health of the discharged patients, counselling will be available to them during their house quarantine. The psychiatrists will provide counselling through phone or video calls, according to Dr. Kumar.
Policemen test negative
All the 47 swab samples of police personnel attached to the Thudiyalur police station, who interacted with a COVID-19 positive social worker, tested negative for COVID-19, Health Department officials confirmed on Friday. Apart from the police, 20 more medical professionals from a primary health centre also tested negative for COVID-19.
