Mumbai: Even as the number of coronavirus cases in the state rose to 53 on Friday, there was some positive news, as six patients tested negative for the virus after undergoing treatment. Three are from Mumbai, while two are from Pune and one from Nagpur, according to the statistics provided by the health department. Since there is no drug to specifically treat coronavirus so far, patients are being treated with a cocktail of antiretrovirals and other symptomatic medicines. A government official said, these six patients will soon be discharged. Although the patients' swab tests were negative, they will have to wait in isolation for 14 days to get their confirmatory test reports.
Health officials said the patients will not be discharged until they undergo more testing at the hospitals. “We will conduct three more tests, at five-day intervals. On the fifth day of isolation, we will conduct the last swab test. If those are negative, then we will let the patient go,” he said.
Earlier, the swab sample of a woman who was part of the duo first identified with thevirus in Mumbai, was found to be negative.
For want of a specific drug to treatm the new strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, doctors at the civic-run Kasturba Gandhi Hospital have been treating patients with a combination of oseltamivir, used to treat swine flu, and other symptomatic medicines. At present, there are no specific drugs available for the treatment of COVID19, so the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recommended the use of oseltamivir along with symptomatic drugs.
