Patient no. 3, the young student who returned from Dublin and tested positive on March 20, was discharged on Tuesday, and asked to stay under home quarantine for 28 days, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar told The Hindu on Friday.
The 21-year old is the second patient to be discharged, after Case no. 1, a 45-year-old man from Kancheepuram, with travel history to the United Arab Emirates, who tested positive on March 7. He was discharged on March 19, and put on home quarantine.
The second patient, case no. 2, who travelled by a train from Delhi to Chennai, and tested positive on March 19, will be discharged in a day or two. “He has tested negative twice for the infection, and will be sent home soon. He is in the step down unit at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. The usual protocol for discharge is a double negative test, clear lung signs (as evidenced by X-ray report, completely asymptomatic, and good vital signs,” Dr. Vijayabaskar said.
“If all these signs are there, they will be cleared to go home, but we are insisting on a 28-day home quarantine after that, in order to be absolutely safe,” he said.
It is in the case of patient no. 2 alone that the source of transmission has not yet been traced — though multiple contacts of the patient have been identified, a contact has not yet been traced to a person who has travelled abroad, or had tested positive.
