85-year-old Odisha woman defeats COVID-19, gets cured

Bhubaneswar, May 14 () An 85-year-old woman fromOdishas Jajpur district has emerged victorious in her fightagainst the deadly COVID-19 at a designated hospital here,hospital authorities said.

The woman, weighing only 22 kg, was discharged fromthe SUM COVID Hospital here on Tuesday night after beingcompletely cured, they said.

"Her battle continued for 12 days before she coulddefeat the disease leading to her discharge from the hospital.Her recovery has raised hopes among others combating thedreaded virus as people aged above 60 years are considered tobe vulnerable to coronavirus," the hospital authorities said.

The octogenarian had tested positive for coronaviruson April 30 and was shifted to the dedicated facility on thesame day.

To her advantage, the woman had no co-morbidityfactors except age-related issues.

"She showed no symptom of COVID-19 for the last threedays before her discharge," they said.

Doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and healthcareworkers, who worked relentlessly to provide necessary care tothe woman, have been hugely encouraged by her recovery whileit has infused hope in the minds of other COVID-19 patients,they said.

Odisha governments chief spokesperson on COVID-19Subroto Bagchi attributed the increased recovery rate ofcoronavirus positive cases and the progress among elderlypatients to the governments "farsighted move" to make thestate's health infrastructure ready for coronavirus pandemic.

Dedicated COVID-19 hospitals have been set up in allthe 30 districts state with a combined bed strength of around6,000.

Meanwhile, 14 persons, including two three-year-oldchildren from Jajpur district, were discharged from thehospital on Tuesday.

One of them was a 60-year-old diabetic who was unawareabout his condition when he was admitted. He was diagnosedwith diabetes in the hospital itself.

"The treatment also helped his pre-prandial bloodsugar level to reduce from 400 to 100 when he was released,"the hospital authorities said.

The SUM COVID Hospital, set up in collaboration withthe Odisha government and supported by the public sectorMahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), has a total number 525beds, including 25 beds in the ICU.

The four-storied complex housing the hospital hasseparate floors for treatment of the positive cases and thosekept in isolation. The asymptomatic and seriously ill patientswere also being treated in separate places.

As many as 82 doctors have been deployed in thehospital drawn from the departments of medicine, pediatrics,anesthesia, pulmonary medicine, general surgery, orthopedics,psychiatry, ENT and ophthalmology. As many as 264 nurses werealso working in the hospital.

The hospital authorities said that medical teamsserving the hospital were required to work for 14 days afterwhich they are replaced by a new team of 82 doctors. SKNMM MM