Coronavirus patient remains in isolation at Hoffman Estates hospital
A Chicago woman diagnosed with the only confirmed case of coronavirus east of the Mississippi River in the U.S. remained in good condition Monday in isolation at Amita St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, officials said.
The woman, in her 60s, is receiving care St. Alexius because her regular physician is on staff there and directed her to the emergency department after appropriate screening, said Olga Solares, associate vice president of communications and media relations for Amita Health.
Only a very limited number of specially trained staff members enter the patient's private isolation room, Solares said. They wear personal protective equipment consisting of gloves, gowns, masks and face shields, she said.
When the case was confirmed late Thursday, the Chicago resident was at the time only the second person in the U.S. to be officially diagnosed with the dangerous viral infection. As of Monday, there were five confirmed cases, with the others in California, Oregon and Arizona, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Results from another 73 people being tested are pending, while 32 people tested negative for the virus, according to the CDC.
Officials said the woman had been in China's Wuhan region, where the coronavirus outbreak occurred earlier this month. The virus also has been confirmed in Japan, Malaysia, France, Canada, Taiwan, Australia, South Korea and five other countries.
She arrived home, landing at O'Hare International Airport, on Jan. 13 and started developing symptoms three to four days later, officials said. Although placed in a special isolation unit immediately after visiting her doctor, the woman was never critically ill, health authorities said.
In between her return to Chicago and her hospitalization, the woman remained mostly at home, but health authorities have checked the people with whom she had contact. The people she did interact with were considered to be well last week, officials said.