Patient had been in China and is now in isolation away from UW Hospital
A positive test result on Wednesday means Wisconsin is now reporting its first case of a patient becoming infected with the coronavirus that has sickened nearly 25,000 people in China and killed almost 500 others there.
Chief medical officer in the Department of Health Services Bureau of Communicable Disease Dr. Ryan Westergaard is quoted by the Associated Press as saying the patient is recovering in isolation at home after being tested –but not admitted– at the University of Wisconsin Hospital. Westergaard did not disclose any details about the identity of the patient except to say the person had returned from a visit to mainland China within the past two weeks.
The virus, similar to pneumonia, has sickened two people in the Chicago area, six in California, and there are single cases in Washington state, Arizona and Massachusetts, according to the AP report.
A report from WISC-TV in Madison (Channel 3000) says officials are awaiting test results from other potential cases. Ten people have been tested in Wisconsin, and seven of those have come back negative for coronavirus so far, the report said.
Pat Kreitlow The Founding Editor of UpNorthNews, Pat was a familiar presence on radio and TV stations in western Wisconsin before serving in the state Legislature. After a brief stint living in the Caribbean, Pat and wife returned to Chippewa Falls to be closer to their growing group of grandchildren.
