Pathanamthitta, April 21: A 62-year-old woman in Kerala's Pathanamthitta has tested positive for coronavirus 19 successive times. The woman has been in the hospital for the last 42 days and her condition is said to be stable. She was admitted to the hospital on March 10 after she came in contact with a family which returned from coronavirus-hit Italy. She has tested positive 19 times since then. Coronavirus Tracker Live.

According to authorities, the woman is asymptomatic and not facing any health issues. "The 62-year-old woman, who contracted the diseases after she came in contact with the Italy-returned family, tested positive even after 19 tests. She is not showing many symptoms also. We tried combination drugs several times," Pathanamthitta district medical officer Dr N Sheeja told Hindustan Times. Coronavirus Count Reaches 18,985 in India With 1329 New COVID-19 Cases in Past 24 Hours, Death Toll Mounts to 603.

Another test will be conducted. "We are planning to transfer her to Kottayam medical college hospital if the next result also turns positive," one of the doctors treated her at the Kozencherry government hospital said. The woman's condition has left healthcare workers and doctors worried. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the case shows coronavirus in unpredictable.

"How the coronavirus behaves cannot be predicted. Even after repeat tests every alternative day, the patient is positive," Vijayan said. Several cases have been reported where a person tested positive for coronavirus more than 14 days after coming into contact with an infected person. Asymptomatic people are also testing positive for coronavirus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) had prescribed a 14-day incubation period for coronavirus but Kerala had extended it to 28 days to ensure that an asymptomatic person or a patient is disinfected completely. The Union Health Ministry said on Monday that 80 per cent of the COVID-19 cases are either asymptomatic or with mild symptoms.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 21, 2020 08:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).