Bhubaneswar, Apr 3 (PTI) Odishas first COVID-19 patient on Friday appealed to the people to nurture positive thoughts and follow the lockdown norms to defeat COVID-19.

The 33-year-old Italy-returned researcher, was on Friday discharged from the Capital Hospital, having recovered from the viral infection.

I urge people not to panic over the situation and stay positive, he said in a video message.

He also asked people not to hide the disease and take care immediately if they develop symptoms of COVID-19 infection.

He thanked the doctors at the Capital Hospital and praised the high standards of sanitation in the isolation ward.

The man, who was admitted to the hospital with coronavirus infection on March 15, tested negative for the disease twice in a span of 24 hours, officials of the Health and Family Welfare Department said.

The 33-year-old man is the second patient in the state to have recovered from the disease.

On Wednesday, a 19-year-old London returnee, who had tested positive for the disease last month, was discharged from a hospital here.

Odisha has so far reported nine COVID-19 cases of whom two have recovered and discharged from hospitals.

Other patients are still in isolation in different hospitals and undergoing treatment.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)