On Friday, the girl, along with 31 others, was discharged from the hospital after recovering from COVID-19 (Representational)
This 12-year-old girl is happy to go back home but she is going to miss some of the new friends she made during her 14-day stay at the isolation ward for coronavirus patients at Symbiosis Hospital. On Friday, the girl, along with 31 others, was discharged from the hospital after recovering from COVID-19.
At Symbiosis Hospital, a total of 100 persons have recovered from COVID-19 so far, including a six-month-old boy and 92-year-old woman.
“My father had left earlier and I was staying here with my cousin. We made some new friends and used to watch TV for some time. We also played some games,” said the 12-year-old.
At the isolation ward of Symbiosis Hospital, there are quite a few children among the patients. “We have 32 children who are positive with coronavirus and three were discharged today. Luckily, none of them were symptomatic and they had been playing around in the designated isolation wards. We try to keep them entertained,” said Dr Vijay Natarajan, CEO at Symbiosis hospital.
Among those who have recovered and were discharged on Friday was the family of a 36-year-old man from Yerawada, who was at the hospital with his wife, six-month-old boy and six-year-old girl. He lost his mother and elder brother to COVID-19, and as many as 12 members of his family had to be admitted to different hospitals. But he believes the difficult days are now over. “Inshallah, we will at least be able to observe Ramzan,” he said.
A 45-year-old woman from Kothrud, who was discharged along with six of her family members on Friday, expressed gratitude about her speedy recovery. “I was so nervous. But the hospital staff was extremely courteous and totally motivated us to remain positive,” she said.
Her mother-in-law had also tested positive, as had some of her close contacts. “My mother-in-law has recovered and so have the others. I am truly grateful,” she said.
“We have had a total of 282 persons with COVID-19, of which two unfortunately succumbed to complications related to the infection. Currently, 180 are at the isolation wards and total 100 have been discharged. These also include a 92-year-old and 88-year-old woman. We were also able to wean away ventilator support for two critical patients and bring them from the ICU to the ward. They have been discharged,” said Dr Natarajan.
‘No healthcare staff has tested positive’
“A majority of our patients have mild symptoms and several are asymptomatic. At the isolation wards too, persons who have tested positive for COVID-19 are usually the close contacts of those with the disease and hence members of the same families have been admitted,” said Dr Natarajan, who has 110 doctors and 200 nurses working at the dedicated COVID care hospital at Lavale.
“Apart from ensuring personal protection kit, each healthcare worker has to take a hot shower before he or she leaves the premises and so far, we do not have a single person among our healthcare staff who has tested positive for COVID-19,” he said.