35 days on, only Covid-19 patient to develop pneumonia yet to be discharged

A 39-year-old employee of Ceasefire company in Sector 135, Noida, is yet to be discharged from hospital, even after spending 35 days there, getting treated for Covid-19.

A 39-year-old employee of Ceasefire company in Sector 135, Noida, is yet to be discharged from hospital, even after spending 35 days there, getting treated for Covid-19. The man says since April 16, three of his blood samples have been collected for testing, but he is still awaiting the reports without which a call on his discharge cannot be taken.

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According to health officials, the man and his 33-year-old wife tested positive for Covid-19 on March 25. The couple was admitted to the Super Speciality Paediatric Hospital & Post Graduate Teaching Institute in Sector 30 and they were later shifted to Sharda Hospital after the man’s condition deteriorated and he developed pneumonia.

The Ceasefire employee is the only patient to develop pneumonia, which is serious complication in those with Covid-19. He had to be put on ventilator support, doctors said. His wife got discharged on April 16 while his three samples have been collected since then but he has not been informed about the results. His last test result, on April 14, was positive for Covid-19, doctors said.

“I am waiting for the results to know if I am still positive. I was among the first patients to be admitted for Covid-19. I have seen people leaving in 10 days after completing the treatment, but I am stuck here even after 35 days,” said the 39-year-old Ceasefire employee.

“Doctors have collected three samples of mine since April 16 and no result has come so far. I have recovered but still I have to share the ward with around 30 others who are infected. Even if I am positive, they should tell me. I am tired of waiting,” the Ceasefire employee said.

A senior government official deployed at Sharda hospital said the Ceasefire employee was the only patient to develop pneumonia.

“It has taken a lot of effort to save his life. He is getting impatient to get discharged as it’s been over a month since he was admitted. Three of his reports are delayed. We need to receive two negative reports before we can discharge him,” a senior government official from the district health department, on condition of anonymity, said.

The chief medical officer was unavailable for comments on the issue.

There are hundreds of incidents wherein people under institutional quarantine and the positive patients have to wait for days to receive the sample reports which has been leading to panic among people. On April 12, a 32-year-old man who was under quarantine at the Galgotias hostel in Greater Noida jumped to his death and later, he was found negative for the infection.

On Tuesday, five more Covid-19 cases were reported in Gautam Budh Nagar. The total number of cases has reached 134 in the district. The new patients include a 45-year-old man from Sector 34, an 18-year-old woman from Sector 50, an 18-year-old man from Sector 15, a 71-year-old man from Sector 93 A and a 50-year-old woman from the Begumpur area of Greater Noida.

There are 50 hot spots, of which 16 have completed the quarantine period and are to be eligible to be declared as green zones as no new Covid19 case has been reported from these areas in the past 28 days. A total of 10 hot spots have entered the orange zone, as no new case has been identified in these areas in the past 14 days, while 23 hot spots are still in red zone as new cases have been reported from there in the past 14 days.