Coronavirus: Grandma, 103, becomes oldest person to recover from disease after spending just 6 days in hospital
A grandmother in Wuhan has beaten the coronavirus at a staggering 103 years of age following a six-day treatment in hospital. Zhang Guangfen was discharged on Tuesday afternoon as she became the oldest coronavirus patient to recover in China. She is two years older than the previous record-holder.
According to her doctor Zeng Yulan, the centenarian was cured within less than a week because "she did not have many underlying health conditions."
The former patient is seen in video footage being escorted out of the hospital by a group of medical workers.
According to local media, the grandmother was diagnosed with the virus on March 1 at Liyuan Affiliated Hospital of Tongji Medical College in Wuhan. At the time of her admission, she was in critical condition and was not able to communicate with medics at the hospital. Speaking to local outlet Chutian Metropolis Daily, matron Liao Zhenhui recalled how nurses took turns to spoonfeed the elderly patient and change her diapers.
After less than a week of being given round-the-clock care and nutrition therapy sessions, Zhang recovered from the disease. "The grandmother loved being complimented by the nurses," Liao continued. "She would smile and nod every time after I told her she looked pretty."
This comes after another centenarian recovered from the coronavirus after testing positive shortly after his 101st birthday and spending a week in hospital. Identified only by his surname Dai, the former patient was discharged from Wuhan Third Hospital last week. His matron Li Lai told the press how Dai appeared to look "very energetic" as he left the hospital.
"He often talked about his 92-year-old wife. He said he needed to get better soon so he could go home and take care of her," Li Lai added.
Dai is also seen in video footage telling a medic his age while being escorted out of the hospital. When the hazmat-wearing medic learns of his age, he gives the centenarian a thumbs up. China has seen a steady decline in new cases of the coronavirus of late. The country is now encouraging its citizens to resume their normal day-to-day.
President Xi Jinping recently gave a major sign that Beijing believes the outbreak is under control after he visited Wuhan yesterday for the first time since the embattled city emerged as the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic in January.