Elderly man with cardiac disease, diabetes, high blood pressure beats COVID-19
Mustafa Memeşil, 68, rests in a hospital bed after being taken out of intensive care, Izmit, Turkey, June 1, 2020. (AA Photo)


A Turkish senior citizen with numerous chronic diseases, including cardiac problems, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, managed to overcome COVID-19 after staying 50 days in an intensive care unit (ICU).

Mustafa Memeşil, 68, was admitted to Izmit state hospital on March 31 with complaints of a cough, difficulty in breathing, loss of appetite and exhaustion. After testing positive for the coronavirus, he was submitted to the ICU on April 4.

After receiving treatment for 50 days, his latest test came back negative, and he was removed from the ICU. Memeşil is expected to be discharged from the hospital on June 5.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), the elderly man wished everyone suffering from COVID-19 a quick recovery. He said he wants to rest at home after leaving the hospital.

"I don’t remember the moment I was taken out of the ICU. A nurse came to me and said ‘Mr. Mustafa, let’s go.’ When I asked her where we are going, she answered, ‘Out of the ICU.' I felt a great joy and thanked her," Memeşil said.

Turkey's daily COVID-19 death toll continued to follow a downward trend as the number of deaths rose by 25 and the number of new cases continued to stay under 1,000, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced Sunday.