India's First Recorded COVID Patient Tests Positive For Coronavirus For The Second Time

In late January 2020, a medical student from Kerala's Thrissur district had become the recorded case of COVID-19 infection in India.

The third-year medical student from Wuhan university was among the hundreds of Indian nationals who were evacuated from the Chinese city where the pandemic was first reported.

AFP

Tested positive on January 2020

She had tested positive for coronavirus on January 30, days after reaching India, becoming the country's first COVID-19 patient.

She was admitted to the Thrissur Medical College Hospital and after nearly three weeks of treatment, she had tested negative twice for the virus and was discharged on February 20, 2020.

Now, local media reports from Kerala have said that the woman has tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time.

AFP

According to reports, she was asymptomatic and had undergone an RT-PCR test to travel to Delhi for educational purposes.

"She is asymptomatic"

"She is reinfected with COVID-19. Her RT-PCR is positive, antigen is negative. She is asymptomatic," Thrissur DMO Dr. K J Reena said.

The woman is presently at home and "she is OK," the doctor said.

In January 2020, two more students who were evacuated from Wuhan had tested positive for COVID-19 after they reached India.

MEA

While February 2020 was even-free for India, COVID-19 cases began exploding in the country in March, mostly among those returning from European countries.

Kerala, where the first cases were reported had initially put in place a thorough trace and test mechanism, which for a long time helped the state to prevent the spread of COVID-19 locally.

AFP

But after the lockdowns were lifted, Kerala could not maintain its grip on things and is now the second worst-hit state in India after Maharashtra.

Even in the second wave, Kerala has remained a concern and while COVID-19 cases have come down in most places, the state continues to report more than 10,000 new cases daily.