Wisconsin's first case of coronavirus confirmed in Dane County resident
DANE COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The 12th case of coronavirus in the U.S. has been confirmed in Wisconsin.
Tests at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison helped detect the virus in the Dane County patient.
The CDC says the person was recently traveling in Beijing, China and is now home in a self-imposed quarantine.
While in China, the person came into contact with people from Wuhan, where the novel form of coronavirus originated.
Satya Rhodes-Conway, Madison’s mayor, says upon returning from the trip, the patient went straight to the hospital from the airport.
“[The patient is] doing well,” she said. “They are still in isolation at home and will remain there until testing shows that they no longer have the coronavirus.”
Doctors and health officials say the immediate risk to the public is low.
County and hospital staff have been preparing for the possibility of a positive test for a month.
“It’s reasonable to assume that today’s news will not be the last positive case we hear about in our region,” said Joe Parisi, Dane County’s Executive.
Dr. Nasia Safdar, the hospital’s Medical Director of Infection Control, says the mortality rate with coronavirus is lower than what doctors saw with previous viruses like SARS or MERS.
“That’s a reason I think to be reassured,” she said.
Safdar says tests are being done on people who have been in contact with the coronavirus patient, and those results are expected back in a few days.