Five persons, including four CISF personnel, were discharged on Wednesday from the Covid-19 ward of Bokaro General Hospital after testing negative for the infection.

Civil surgeon Ashok Kumar Pathak and other doctors of the hospital bid them farewell. Apart from bouquets, the five on their release were given food items, fruit baskets, medicines and ration.

“The coronavirus sample report of the five patients came back negative. On an average, each patient got cured in 15-16 days of treatment at the hospital,” Dr Pathak said.

During the farewell, the patients who were cured of Covid-19 said people should not panic as the disease can be cured. Patients should approach health officials on noticing any symptoms, they said.

Director, medical services, A.K. Singh and in charge of Covid-19 unit, circle, Rakesh Kumar Gautam were among those present.

Dr Singh said the hospital was ready to deal with any medical emergency. “All the five patients of Covid-19 have gone home after getting better following treatment for the disease. Earlier, nine persons were cured of the novel coronavirus at the hospital. Our establishment is fully equipped for any medical emergency in Bokaro city,” he said.

Dr Singh, praising the hospital staff, added: “A total of five teams, each having 16 medical workers, have been deployed to contain infection and treat patients. Each team is ready to provide immediate health services to people during any emergency.”

Dr Gautam said there was no need to be worried about the coronavirus and the key to avoiding infection was to maintain social distancing. A balanced diet which includes Vitamin C and regular exercise and yoga can help in protecting from the virus.

On May 22, five persons were detected with the coronavirus in Bokaro. Of them, four were CISF jawans and the other was a resident of Nawadih who had arrived on May 13 from Dharavi in Mumbai.

Earlier, 10 persons were declared Covid-19 positive in April. Barring a 75-year-old patient who died on April 7, all others recovered and were released from the hospital. The last lot of three patients was released on May 7.