A 65-year-old man from Allipuram area in Visakhapatnam, who was the first to test positive for COVID-19 from the city and was under treatment at Government Hospital for Chest and Communicable Diseases, was discharged from the hospital here on Tuesday.
He was discharged only after all the three samples that were sent to the labs in the last three days tested negative.
The 65-year-old, who had a travel history to Saudi Arabia, was the first positive case from the city. His family members and a few other persons who had come in contact with him were identified and quarantined. One of his family members, a 49-year-old woman, also tested positive at a later date and is undergoing treatment at GHCCD. But according to sources in the hospital, even her samples had tested negative in the first test. Sources said that the woman would be discharged only after further tests.
Success story
Doctors have cited the 65-year-old’s case as a success story, as he has managed to make a recovery despite his age; across the world, people aged over 60 have been the most vulnerable to COVID-19.
“There was no anti-virus treatment. We just administered symptomatic treatment and kept his co-morbidities under control,” said Andhra Medical College principal Prof. P.V. Sudhakar.
The 65-year-old was diabetic, and was also suffering from hypertension. Sources said that he was administered insulin thrice a day to keep his diabetes under control and had allowed the virus to die on its own.
