India's first coronavirus survivor shares her story: How did she get cured?

Recounting her experience since her arrival at Kochi airport on January 24, the medical student was asked to fill a form noting about her whereabouts and further instructed to report on arrival to the health officials of their respective region. She followed the instructions diligently.

Arrives in India: Tested positive for Coronavirus

Post her arrival at Thrissur on January 25, she reported to the health officials of the region, who recorded and followed it up.

She was then asked to self-quarantine in-house and wear masks. On January 27, she experienced a sore throat and was feeling unwell. Every time she came back from China in the past as well, she experienced cold and fever. So her relatives advised her to inhale steam and take general medicines to get rid of the cold and fever, but the medical student insisted on visiting the doctor and getting tested for coronavirus - being aware of the fact that the pandemic is infecting people at a rapid pace.

Concerned about the well-being of her near and dear ones and close relatives, she didn't want to stay home without knowing what she exactly suffered from. On contacting the health officials, she was asked to visit the District general hospital, where she saw four Covid-19 patients in isolation.

Nasal swab, throat swabs, blood, urine and stool samples were taken for detailed examination. On January 30, she was tested Covid-19 positive and shifted to the isolation ward of Thrissur Medical College Hospital.

For 25 days, she remained in an isolation ward, wherein the first two weeks felt nothing unusual, but as days passed by, she noticed the trained staff at the hospital took her dresses and burned it to control the spread of the dangerous virus. She was asked to sanitize her phone every day, which the medical student anyways used to do in China, but no diet restrictions were imposed since the medical student was overall healthy and did not suffer from any other health issues.

On the pathway to recovery

Despite understanding the importance of isolation, in this case, the student felt it sometimes difficult to comply with the strict protocol. She followed breathing exercises when she felt sad or depressed and spoke to counselors to feel better.

What left her mind curious was why her sample results didn't come back to be tested again, while the results of other patients kept coming in, even after two weeks of treatment. The medical student was finally discharged from hospital on February 20 but asked to remain in-home quarantine until March 1.

Speaking to the New Indian Express, the coronavirus survivor said, "I stayed alert, followed strict medical protocols and took necessary precautions."

Looking back at the days, she says, "The sooner you report to the Health Department, the better it is. The timely intervention and right support helped me in recovering soon and also prevented the virus from spreading."

Considering the coronavirus threat continues to prevail in China at the moment, the university is conducting online classes for students across the globe. The medical student is making most of the online convenience and continuing her course from home base (India). She would only return back to China once the travel clearance is issued.