Kathmandu, April 10

The condition of eight coronavirus patients undergoing treatment in three hospitals across the country is normal. Most of them continue to be asymptomatic and even those who showed mild symptoms when they were admitted to hospitals are now free from symptoms, according to sources in hospitals. Two patients are undergoing treatment at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, Teku, two in Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital, Baglung, and four in Seti Provincial Hospital, Dhangadi.

Director of Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital Sagar Kumar Rajbhandari said the two coronavirus patients — a 19-year-old girl and a man — undergoing treatment at the hospital still have COVID-19 even after two weeks of treatment. “I hope their test results come out negative the next time,” he said and added that the hospital would test the two patients’ laboratory samples on Sunday.

Bhandari said both the patients, who were being kept in separate rooms with a kitchen and attached bathroom, had already finished their course of medication and didn’t show any symptom of the disease. “We are trying to have minimum contact with the patients. Our nurses check the vitals of the patients when needed and doctors visit them only when they are required to do so,” he said. He added that mostly the health professionals contact the patients through WhatsApp or Viber.

Rajbhandari said avoiding unnecessary contact with patients was necessary to reduce the risk of infection to doctors and to make judicious use of the personal protective gear.

Medical Superintendent of Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital Shailendra BK Pokharel said the 19-year-old girl and 65-year-old woman who were undergoing treatment at the hospital had no symptoms of COVID-19, but doctors were monitoring the elderly woman more carefully as she suffered from asthma and hypertension. The teenager tested positive in the first test conducted by the hospital after she was hospitalised. The hospital has sent laboratory samples of both the patients, but it is yet to receive results.

The 65-year-old woman is being given medications for asthma and hypertension.

Chief of Medicine Department at Seti Provincial Hospital, Dhangadi, Sher Bahadur Kamar said only one patient had mild symptoms of COVID-19 when he was admitted to the hospital, but now he was free of symptoms. Other three patients are asymptomatic and their condition is normal.

The first COVID-19 patient of Dhangadi Hospital tested positive again when his throat and nasal swabs were tested a week ago. He will be tested again tomorrow. The hospital has sent nasal and throat swabs of the three other patients to laboratories, but it is yet to receive results from the lab.

Hospitals can discharge patients from hospital only when they test negative twice.

Hospitals treating COVID-19 patients test laboratory samples of the patient 72 hours after they become free of symptoms.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on April 11, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.