Probable SARS patient in Medan discharged
Probable SARS patient in Medan discharged
Sari P. Setiogi and Apriadi Gunawan The Jakarta Post Jakarta
The only probable case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Indonesia was discharged from Adam Malik Hospital in the North Sumatra capital of Medan on Sunday, as his condition has improved.
The man will be placed in home quarantine for 10 days, secretary to the Director General of Communicable Diseases Eradication and Environmental Health (P2M), Syafi'i Ahmad, said.
He said that during the quarantine period, the 65-year-old man should take his temperature every eight hours, restrict contact with people, use a separate bedroom and bathroom, and wear a surgical mask when meeting guests.
In Medan, head of the municipal health agency Herman Sadeck told a press conference that the man had a normal temperature of 36 degrees Celsius, his lung X-ray was normal and he no longer coughed.
"The critical 10 days have passed and it is almost certain that he is now free from the corona virus," Herman said.
The man has been allowed to leave the hospital despite the fact that the results of his blood test in Atlanta have yet to be received.
"It doesn't matter if he tests positive, his condition is improving so he can leave," Herman said.
Family members of the man have also been discharged from quarantine in the hospital and the family home.
The man caught the virus during a trip to Singapore, where he went for a medical checkup. He retuned to Indonesia on April 10 with SARS-like symptoms and was admitted to Gleneagles Hospital in Medan. He was later transferred to Adam Malik Hospital, which has been designated as a hospital to handle SARS patients.
Syafi'i said that despite the man's discharge from the hospital, Indonesia's list of probable cases will remain at two according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The other probable case in Indonesia was a Briton, who fled to Hong Kong after he was discharged from the hospital.
Meanwhile, all five suspected SARS patients were discharged from Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital in Sunter, North Jakarta, on Saturday.
"Two patients, who were recently under observation, are declared free from SARS and are allowed to leave the hospital," Syafi'i said.
The two patients were a 31-year-old Taiwanese businessman and a 27-year-old Indonesian man, both of whom arrived from Taiwan on April 30.
WHO has declared new definitions for probable SARS case. Patients suspected of having SARS should be isolated when their lab test shows positive for the corona virus.
So far, only those whose chest X-rays show signs of pneumonia or are severely ill are put in isolation wards.
The new definition will include someone who tests positive for the virus even if his chest X-ray is normal. It means that more patients will be put in isolation.
The Geneva-based United Nations body reported on Friday the accumulative number of patients with probable cases had reached 6,054 worldwide, while 417 died of the virus.