‘Kerala elderly couple surviving COVID-19 brings ray of hope’
| Date :01-Apr-2020 |
Thomas and his wife Mariyamma, 93-year-old and
88-year-old respectively from Pathanamthitta, who tested
positive for Covid-19 recovered completely after being treated
at the Kottayam Medical College. (PTI)
By Payal Banerjee and Kunal Dutt
NEW DELHI :
THE recovery of an elderly couple, aged 93 and 88, in Kerala from coronavirus in the face of high mortality rate in the older population globally due to the infection has brought a ray of hope to other patients, with some experts describing it as “rarest of the rare” case. Thomas and his wife Mariyamma, hailing from Ranni locality in Pathanamthitta municipality in Central Travancore region, tested positive and remained critical for days, before recovering completely from the infection.
While some experts are calling it “one of the rarest of the rare case”, others attributed their recovery to good patient care system in the Southern State. Globally, the death rate due to coronavirus was overwhelmingly weighted against the elderly and those suffering from various ailments.
“It is one of the rarest of rare cases in the light of reported high mortality in the higher age groups, especially in the age bracket of above 70 years. It is nothing short of a miracle,” said Dr Neeraj Gupta, professor in the Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. “It is giving a ray of hope to the healthcare workers and the elderly fighting against this dreaded disease that recovery is always possible,” he said. Gupta said probably this couple’s immune system was able to sustain the fight to such an extent that they were able to recover and “this gives us hope”.