7 of Kerala family test negative after treatment

Thiruvananthapuram, March 30 Five members of a family and their two close relatives who faced public anger and criticism for three weeks after testing coronavirus positive had now tested negative and stood discharged, Health Minister K.K. Shailaja said on Monday.

The seven included Thomas, 93, and his wife Mariamma, 88, who were under treatment at the Kottayam Medical College hospital, their son, daughter-in-law and grandson. The other two were granddaugter of the aged couple and her husband.

Incidentally, the recovery of the aged couple is miraculous, as according to medical experts age is a crucial factor for corona patients.

The aged couple's son and his family had arrived from Italy. The entire team of medical professionals was seen clapping hands when the five of them were leaving the hospital in an ambulance.

They were also given a kit of essential items so they could cook their own food at home.

"We were ignorant and we apologise for what all we did. It was not on purpose when we moved around after coming from Italy. But we are humbled by the response from the entire team of medical professionals at the hospital for the past three weeks. We will never forget the love and affection we received," said a 24-year-old cured patient who works in Italy.

It was on February 29 that the three came from Italy. Since it was their first visit to their home town Ranni near Pathanamthitta in more than three years, they went around visiting their near and dear ones.

But things turned for the worse when the three, the aged couple, and their close relatives who live next doors, who drove them from Kochi to Ranni on February 29, tested positive one by one from the first week of March.

And then started their trolling and accusations. While the aged couple was shifted to the Kottayam Medical College, the other five were admitted to the nearby district hospital at Pathanamthitta.

The first to be discharged on Saturday were the son-in-law and daughter of the Italian couple.