First 2 Coronavirus Patients In Illinois Discharged From Hospital
CHICAGO (CBS)-- The first two people with confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in Illinois have been discharged from the AMITA Health St. Alexius Medical Center Hoffman Estates Thursday night.
The two patients, a 61-year-old woman and her husband in his 60s, were released from the hospital and allowed back home under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Illinois Department of Public Health, the hospital said.
The couple released the following statement:
"With it being an uncomfortable situation, the care and the services we've received have been great. Everyone's been very kind and very respectful. This has been the best healthcare experience we've ever had, but we're definitely looking forward to getting home and getting life back to normal."
The couple has now transitioned to home isolation. Officials said the couple will have "daily monitoring."
The first patient in Illinois was the wife who had recently traveled to Wuhan, China in late December and came back to Chicago through O'Hare Airport in mid January.
Health officials said her husband contracted the virus from his wife, making him the first confirmed human-to-human transmission of coronavirus in the U.S.
O'Hare started screening travelers arriving from China and many major airlines have suspended flights to and from China.
Illinois heath officials say 49 people have been tested for the virus. In addition to the two confirmed cases, 26 have tested negative and 21 results are pending.
