THRISSUR: It was a proud day for Kerala, especially the health department led by Minister K K Shailaja as the first coronavirus-infected patient in the country was discharged from Thrissur Medical College Hospital on Thursday, as two consecutive tests turned negative.
The test results of the girl were out on Wednesday and the decision to discharge her was taken after the medical board met on Thursday.
With the discharge of the girl, all the three persons infected with the deadly virus in the state have fully recovered.
The 23-year-old girl from Thrissur was admitted to the isolation ward of the district general hospital on January 24. The swab test results indicated that the infection occurred on January 30.
The girl is a medical student at Wuhan University and had returned home when the COVID-19 outbreak was reported there.
DMO K J Reena said, "The girl will be under house quarantine for the next 14 days and the department will closely monitor her health condition during the period." Since the girl's body has overcome the infection, she need not have to worry about the reappearance of the disease ever in her life.
In all, three COVID-19 suspected cases were reported from the state. Apart from the confirmed case in Thrissur, the other two were from Alappuzha and Kasaragod. The other two patients with suspected coronavirus symptoms had traveled with the first infected person and got discharged earlier as their test results turned negative.
The state got wide appreciation from all parts of the world for brilliantly coordinating the precautionary measures and ensuring excellent surveillance mechanisms.
The department had chalked out an action plan from 'backtracking' those who came into close contact with the infected person to keeping in touch with the home quarantined people on a daily basis.