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British pilot who was Vietnam’s most critical coronavirus patient has recovered
- The Vietnam Airlines pilot contracted Covid-19 in March and spent 65 days on life support
- Doctors said he is now virus-free and can breathe normally. He will fly to London on Sunday
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A British pilot who was Vietnam’s most critical Covid-19 patient is virus free and has recovered enough to make the long flight home next Sunday, doctors said.
A group of Vietnamese doctors who have been overseeing the treatment of the 42-year-old man from Scotland announced that he “has made substantial progress and his health condition allows him to travel” on the 12 hour flight to London.
The man is virus free, breathes normally without any support and is no longer treated as a Covid-19 patient, said Dr Tran Thanh Linh, the deputy head of the ICU ward at Cho Ray hospital where the man is receiving treatment.
Vietnam has gone all out to save the man, who was working for national carrier Vietnam Airlines when he tested positive for the virus in March.
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The pilot had been critically ill and spent 65 days on life support.
Doctors said at one point they considered a lung transplant as the man’s lungs were 90 per cent damaged and non-functional.
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Linh said on Tuesday that the man now sleeps well and can sit up and walk with a walking frame.
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