Coimbatore : NRI tests negative for coronavirus

Coimbatore: A 30-year-old Tirupur resident, who had arrived in the city earlier this week from Malaysia and was placed in the novel coronavirus isolation ward in the ESI hospital, has tested negative for the virus.

The man, who has been working in Malaysia for the last six years, had landed in the Kochi airport on Monday and had reached the city by road on Tuesday. “He was suffering from symptoms of flu and had gone to the Kovai Medical Center Hospital (KMCH), where he was diagnosed with flu symptoms. A CT scan revealed pneumonic lesions in his lungs,” said Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) dean Dr B Ashokan.

The private hospital referred the man to CMCH, where he was isolated for a night. Doctors collected throat swab and sent it to the National Institute of Virology in Pune. “After a night here, we shifted him to the ESI Hospital’s coronavirus isolation ward. However, on Friday night, the test results came back negative,” said Ashokan. “ He is likely to be discharged by Saturday evening. We have advised him to remain in home quarantine as a precaution.”