NE NEWS SERVICE
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, APRIL 3
A 93-year old man, country’s oldest COVID-19 survivor, and his wife were discharged from the Government Medical College Hospital in Kottayam on Friday, days after they fully recovered, in what is being dubbed by the medical community as a “miracle cure”, officials said.
More Testing 🧪 | #COVID19
Govt has decided to make testing more widespread. At present, samples are taken of those cases that meet most symptoms. From now, even cases that show only one or two symptoms will be sent for testing.
Rapid testing will also be part of the regime.
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) April 3, 2020
Thomas Abraham and 88-year old Mariyamma have recovered after days of life-and-death battle against the deadly coronavirus since their admission to the hospital on March 9, state Health department officials said.
A nurse, who contracted coronavirus while taking care of the elderly couple at the hospital, has also recovered and was discharged on Friday, they said.
State Health Minister K K Shailaja congratulated the doctors, nurses and other staff of the Medical College Hospital for saving the elderly couple. Along with the seven-member team of doctors who led the treatment, 40 medical staff including 25 nurses actively took part in various stages of treatment of the two.
#CoronaUpdate | Kerala makes a mark. Elderly Couple aged 93 & 88 who were tested for COVID 19 along with other age related ailments & remained critical have now discharged from hospital. pic.twitter.com/8COoBDpck5
— Shailaja Teacher (@shailajateacher) April 3, 2020
The couple’s condition was “very critical” at one stage and proper care given by doctors and nurses helped them recover, a health department official said.
“They are fine now. The decision to discharge them was taken after their latest sample test also turned negative for coronavirus,” the official said.
The couple hailing from Ranni village in Pathanamthitta district had contracted the virus from their son, daughter- in-law and grandson who returned from Italy last month.
Thomas, a small-time tapioca and rubber grower, and his wife were having age-related ailments besides being diabetic and suffering from hypertension. The man had complained of chest pain during treatment. “So they were considered in the high-risk category. They were treated at the separate rooms in the Medical ICU of the hospital.
They were very critical at one stage but the proper care given by the doctors and nurses at the hospital helped them to recover fully from the deadly disease,” the Health official said. Thomas became very critical in between and he was put on ventilator support.
As the two were restless after being kept in separate rooms in the Medical ICU, officials shifted them to another place where they can see each other. Mariyamma also went through a difficult phase due to urinary tract and bacterial infection.
The couple have three children, seven grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. Earlier, their son, daughter-in-law and grandson were discharged from a hospital in Pathanamthitta after they too recovered and tested negative for the virus.
According to grandson Rijo Moncy, Thomas is a teetotaller and non-smoker and even without going to the gym, he had a six-pack body. “It’s a miracle that they survived the pandemic and the doctors and the health officials have put in their all efforts to save them,” Rijo, who works in Italy in the radiology field, said.
Thomas insisted on eating Pazhankanji, Kerala’s own super food made of rice gruel, and tapioca or jackfruit while confined in the isolation and these were provided to him, he said.
Nine new coronavirus cases reported in Kerala
Kerala reported nine new cases of coronavirus on Friday, with seven from the worst affected Kasaragod district, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. Besides, Kasaragod, one case each was detected from Thrissur and Idukki, he told reporters after a COVID-19 review meeting this evening.
Currently, 251 people are under treatment for the virus in the state and 14 were cured today, Vijayan said.
A total of 1.69 lakh people are under surveillence in the state and 706 are in various hospitals. Two fatalities have been reported from the state so far.
Undertrial flees from coronavirus isolation ward in Kerala jail
An undertrail prisoner, who was admitted to the Coronavirus isolation ward at the central prison here, managed to escape after jumping the compound wall, jail authorities said here on Friday.
The inmate, suspected to have fled the prison ward last night, was identified as Ajay Babu, a native of Aamirpur in Uttar Pradesh. An accused in a bank burglary case in neighbouring Kasaragod district, Babu had been lodged at the isolation ward within the prison since March 25, a senior jail official said.
He was shifted to the isolation ward as he was arrested from Kasaragod, a hotspot of covid19 in the state. A search has been intensifed to nab him, the official added.
