Andhra Pradesh officials shake hands with Coronavirus recovered patient

Amaravati: Avoiding handshake is a key social distancing norm in the wake of global pandemic coronavirus, but top politicians and officials in Kakinada shook hands with a man as a youth who was declared cured of the disease walked out of a hospital after treatment for Covid-19.

The incident took place when the 22-year-old man was discharged from the government general hospital. The man from Rajamahendravaram had tested positive for the coronavirus on March 22, four days after he returned from London.

As he completed the treatment and subsequently tested negative, he was discharged from the hospital. Those present to welcome him outside the hospital include Kakinada MP Vanga Geetha, Kakinada city MLA D Chandrasekhar Reddy, East Godavari district collector D Muralidhar Reddy and SP Adnan Nayeem Asmi besides the hospital officials.

The MLA, collector and SP were seen shaking hands with the man.

He voluntarily went to the hospital due to cold, cough and fever. The doctors sent his samples for the coronavirus test and the result was positive.

"Doctors used to monitor very closely, assessing my body response to the treatment. After one week, they found I had recovered," the youth told media persons.

He is one of the five patients to recover in the state so far.