USA TODAY US Edition

1st US coronaviru­s patient better, exits quarantine

- John Bacon USA TODAY

A Washington state man who was the nation’s first confirmed case of the new coronaviru­s has made a full recovery and is no longer quarantine­d, health officials announced.

Almost 800 people remain on the state’s watch list as health officials around the world battle to contain the virus, COVID-19, which has infected more than 75,000 people worldwide and caused 2,130 deaths, mostly in mainland China. In the USA, 15 cases have been confirmed, and one American has died in China.

The confirmed case in Washington state was a 35-year-old from Snohomish County, near Seattle. He was released from a hospital more than two weeks ago but remained isolated at home until Wednesday, the Snohomish Health District said in a statement.

“He is now considered fully recovered and free to go about his regular activities,” Snohomish officials said in a statement. The state health department said 26 people have been tested for the new virus. One test result is pending, and the rest came back negative, the department said.

The 779 people under public health supervisio­n across the state include close contacts of the confirmed case as well as people who returned from China in the past 14 days and are included in federal quarantine guidance.

The Snohomish County man went to an urgent care clinic Jan. 19 with a cough and fever. He told the staff he had seen a health alert about the outbreak in China – and he had returned four days earlier from a trip to visit family in Wuhan.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was called in, and his diagnosis was confirmed the next day. He was admitted to an isolation unit at Providence Regional Medical Center for clinical observatio­n and developed pneumonia.

His health improved, and he was released from the hospital. “We cannot thank him enough for his patience and cooperatio­n throughout the entire process,” the Snohomish County statement said.

China revises reporting method again

China said it is changing its reporting of confirmed cases to eliminate cases diagnosed by clinicians with little testing.

The daily infection figures will be lowered to deduct cases reported as confirmed based on clinical evaluation that turn out negative in lab tests.

The new format was at least partially responsibl­e for a sharp decline in new cases reported Thursday by China – 394 – compared with the 1,749 cases reported the previous day.

2 dead in Iran

Iran said two people have died from coronaviru­s infections in the city of Qom, 80 miles south of Tehran.

Five cases have been confirmed in the country, and two patients suspected of infection were quarantine­d in the northern city of Babol, said Mostafa Javanian, a health official with the University of Medical Education in Babol.

South Korea reported its first death from the virus Thursday and said its confirmed case count had more than doubled, to 104.

The confirmed case in Washington state was a 35-year-old from Snohomish County, near Seattle.

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