Srinagar: Two young sisters who had tested positive for COVID-19 in Kashmir last month were discharged from hospital on Monday after their latest test returned negative, officials said.
“First two COVID-19 Positive children discharged today from JLNM Hospital Rainawari, Srinagar, along with their mother who was COVID-19 Negative but was staying with her daughters,” an official spokesman said.
The repeat samples of both the children and of the mother came negative for COVID-19 on Monday, he said.
The sisters — one of them an infant — had tested positive last month, having contracted the virus from their close relative.
“Two tests were conducted on each girl in a span of 24 hours. Both came negative after which they were discharged from the hospital today,” Dr Tabasum, Deputy Medical Superintendent, Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial (JLNM) Hospital, where the girl were admitted on March 26, said.
Dr Tabasum said the girls who had contracted the deadly virus from their grandfather with travel history to Saudi Arabia, were kept in isolation since they were admitted last month.
“We allotted a separate ward to the girls and also counselled them a lot. We told them not to touch surfaces. In order to prevent any mental trauma, we gave them toys, crayons and drawing sheets for distraction,” she said.
Dr Tabasum said the mother of the girls had tested negative but she spent the past more than two weeks with them at the hospital.
The JLNM Hospital Deputy Superintendent said the mother was also tested before being discharged from the hospital. The father of the girls has also tested negative.
The girls will now spent 14 days in home quarantine and they will be counselled again if need arises, Dr Tabasum said.
