Twenty people quarantined after coming into close contact with the man at the centre of Thailand’s first Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) case were discharged yesterday.
The 20, classified as being at high risk of catching Mers, had emerged from the virus’ 14-day incubation period and were all healthy,
Fourteen were passengers who sat near the 75-year-old Omani on the flight to Thailand, two were taxi drivers who had picked him up, and four others were nurses at a private-run hospital where the patient was first admitted, said Dr Rajata.
Sixteen other people also considered at high risk of contracting Mers from the Omani man, including three relatives, are still being quarantined as they are yet to pass the 14-day incubation period, Dr Rajata said.
The Mers-infected patient is making a steady recovery from his illness and is no longer on a respirator, while his lung X-rays show better results, he said.
Test results on nasal and throat swabs taken from the Omani patient, still being treated in an isolation room at Bamrasnadura Infectious Diseases Institute, have returned negative more than once, said Jariya Saengsajja, director of the institute.
Doctors must be certain he has fully recovered and is fit enough to travel before he is released from the hospital, she said.