Pensioner, 93, walks out of intensive care in Turkey after recovering from coronavirus following ten days of treatment
- Alye Gunduz, 93, walked out of intensive care of a Istanbul hospital yesterday
- The novel Covid-19 coronavirus risks hitting the capital, and Turkey, hard
- Suffering from hypertension, Gunduz, a farmer from Turkey’s southeastern city of Batman, was taken to hospital on 31 March with complaints of a high fever
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
Cheered by her doctors, a 93-year-old pensioner was discharged from an Istanbul hospital after recovering from the novel coronavirus following 10 days of treatment.
Alye Gunduz’s recovery from the disease that is killing chiefly the old offered some hope to health workers at Istanbul’s Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty hospital as they battle the outbreak, which risks hitting Turkey hard.
‘It is promising because patients at this age and with chronic diseases are most of the time unable to recover because they are at highest risk from COVID-19,’ chief physician Zekayi Kutlubay told AFP.
Medical staff cheer as Alye Gunduz (centre), 93 years old, who was treated for Covid-19 (novel coronavirus) is escorted to be discharged from the Istanbul University Cerrahpasa medical faculty Hospital after ten days of treatment yesterday
Medical staff cheer as Alye Gunduz (centre), 93 years old, who was treated for Covid-19 (novel coronavirus) is escorted to be discharged from the Istanbul University Cerrahpasa medical faculty Hospital after ten days of treatment yesterday
‘A 93-year-old woman walking out of intensive care sound and safe is inspiring for us as well as for other coronavirus patients at her age.’
Suffering from hypertension, Gunduz, a farmer from Turkey’s southeastern city of Batman, was taken to hospital on March 31 with complaints of a high fever and stomachache. She was discharged on Friday.
‘I wish a speedy recovery to everyone,’ the elderly woman said as she was helped by her grandson.
Turkey has registered more than 47,000 COVID-19 cases – ranking it among the 10 most infected countries in the world. It has recorded over a thousand deaths and the disease is spreading fast.
The first flight from Ankara took off yesterday carrying personal protective equipment including surgical masks, N95 industrial masks and hazmat suits
Despite the rising cases in its own country, the Turkish government yesterday began sending planeloads of emergency equipment to Britain to help medics fighting coronavirus.
The first flight from Ankara took off yesterday carrying personal protective equipment including surgical masks, N95 industrial masks and hazmat suits, with a second flight due to take off on Saturday, according to the defence ministry.
The items were sent in boxes displaying the words of 13th century Sufi Poet Jalaluddin Rumi: ‘After hopelessness, there is so much hope and after darkness, there is the much brighter sun.’