12th, Wisconsin coronavirus patient is isolated at home

Wisconsin coronavirus patient is isolated at home

From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman

The 12th US person with a confirmed case of Wuhan coronavirus is isolated at home in Wisconsin, according to officials at UW Health.

“The patient did not require hospitalization. They are currently in home isolation and doing well,” Dr. Nasia Safdar, medical director of infection control at UW Health, said during a press conference today. “In this case, they did not have clinical symptoms that warranted hospitalization.”

Safdar said the medical center has a “very involved protocol that was put into play” when the patient sought care at UW Health on Jan. 30.

“When somebody comes in, they’re asked questions about travel history, whether they traveled to the relevant areas in question and whether they have symptoms of a respiratory nature,” Safdar said. “When there’s a positive answer to those questions they are taken back into a private room, that’s called a negative pressure room to prevent spreading the virus to anyone else. The health care workers that enter the room are fully garbed up with gowns, gloves, eye protection and face masks.”

Wisconsin’s Division of Public Health and UW Health are investigating the patient’s close contacts.

The patient is an adult who traveled from Beijing and was exposed to known cases while in China, UW Health said in an earlier news release.