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102-year-old Patiala woman remains unaffected despite family members testing positive for Covid-19
Doctors say a healthy lifestyle and good immunity must have played a role
The elderly are believed to be at most risk from the deadly Covid-19 pandemic due to their comprised immune systems. However, a 102-year-old woman has brought hope for the vulnerable section as she did not test positive despite four of her family becoming infected.
A doctor, requesting anonymity, said after the first member of the family tested positive, they had quarantined the entire family, including the 102-year-old woman, identified as Maya Devi.
“Two day later, three more members of their family tested positive. But the elderly woman tested negative. She must have really good immunity,” he said.
Ravi Bansal, Devi’s grandson, said, “We were worried about our grandmother. However, we were relieved to see her negative reports. She doesn’t have a medical condition and doesn’t take any medicine. She always takes care of her diet. Despite being 102 years old, she can still walk by her herself,” he said.
Earlier, a three-year-old child remained uninfected despite both his parents testing positive.
Doctors say these instances prove that people don’t need to panic about Covid-19 even if they fall in the risk group.
Virus no match for 3-month-old
A three-month-old baby also remained unaffected by the virus, despite her parents testing positive.
The 28-year-old father, who did not wish to be identified, said, “A few days ago, I found out that I had been infected by Covid-19. A few days later my wife also tested positive. I was worried about my daughter as I thought that she doesn’t have a strong immune system. However, I am happy that she tested negative.”
Patiala civil surgeon Dr Harish Malhotra said, “There are multiple factors that may have helped the two elderly woman and the baby to stay uninfected. The elderly woman’s lifestyle could have helped her. On other hand, the mother of the three-month-old baby developed antibodies against Covid -19, which were passed on to the baby through breast-feeding.”
