British COVID-19 patient many not need lung transplant thanks to miraculous recovery

Doctor Tran Thanh Linh, Deputy Head of the Cho Ray Hospital's Emergency Department said the patient has undergone three-month treatment and is recovering well but he still needs more time to rehabilitate his mobility.

The British pilot had been dependent on the ECMO for 56 days and on ventilator for 86 days before doctors could see his first smile, Linh added.

He has regained consciousness from the coma and could unlock his phone and iPad with passwords, talk to doctors, swing arms and legs, wrote on a board, and practice walking with health workers’ help.

The patient was admitted to the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases on March 18 in stable health conditions but his health suddenly got worse quickly with condensed lungs at times. The doctors had to put him on the ECMO on April 6.

On Wednesday, Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee came to visit the British patient in the Cho Ray Hospital. The former was pleased to see him very conscious and on the mend. 

Thanks to early and drastic measures, Viet Nam has successfully contained the pandemic, with relatively low number of infection cases (335) as of Thursday morning.

Noticeably, the nation has gone 63 days without community infection and the recovery rate increased to 97% (325 cases).

About 6,285 people having close contact with COVID-19 patients or entering from pandemic-hit areas are being quarantined including 93 at hospitals, 5,775 at concentrated quarantine establishments, and 417 at places of residence./. 

By Khanh Phuong