Vadodara’s first COVID-19 patient discharged

Some good news, First patient was discharged today. We salute our doctors and health staff for their ongoing dedicated efforts. #VMCVadodara #GujaratFightsCovid19 pic.twitter.com/4Jto7iEbIi

— VMC VADODARA (@VMCVadodara) March 31, 2020

He feels he may have contracted the virus during his travel. “I took a flight from Spain to Dubai and Dubai to Mumbai and then travelled by road to Vadodara. I have a feeling that my connecting flight from Dubai to Mumbai was a culprit as it was a hopping flight and I have a feeling it wasn’t sanitized well. I may have accidentally touched something contaminated on that flight.”

He has been in the business of olive oil trading since over a decade, which prompted him to shift base to Spain, where his wife and two children are currently in lockdown. “My children study there but right now they are also in lockdown. They are worries about me but I have assured them that I am completely cured now,” he says, standing in the drive way of his house in Makarpura.

The 14-day stay at the government hospital, he says, has been a mix of anxiety and hope. “I must say that the doctors and staff at the hospital are working so hard. Not even for a moment did they allow me to feel morally low or scare me. They would only build my hope, even knowing that it is a new case for them. It gave me the courage to fight mentally. Although, every time a patient was brought in for a test or for isolation or a positive case, it would cause a lot of anxiety… Thoughts like what is going on outside? Is it really a bad epidemic here…”

Along with the patient, 11 of his contacts who were quarantined have also been discharged, including a domestic help who worked in his house after he arrived in Vadodara. He said, “I would like to tell those who are suffering this disease right now that they will be fine if they stay mentally strong. Everyone has different symptoms, some have fever, some have respiratory issues. I only had high fever.”

The patient will now be in home quarantine for 14 days with the authorities checking on him everyday and helping him with essential supplies and food, District Collector Shalini Agarwal said.