DHS officials confirm 1st case of coronavirus in Wisconsin, patient in 'home isolation'

MADISON -- Officials have confirmed that a Dane County resident, who recently returned from China, tested positive for the coronavirus. That person is at home, under isolation, recovering -- and officials add that there is no larger risk to the public.

"A person's chance of getting sick from this NCV remains very low," said Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway.

The announcement of a positive 2019 novel coronavirus case in Wisconsin set off a flurry of consecutive press conferences Wednesday, Feb. 5. In Madison, state and UW Health specialists, as well as Dane County and city leaders, are urging calm.

"We are ready for this, our public health staff plan and train and practice for novel viruses like this," Mayor Rhodes-Conway said. "They are prepared."

Officials said that the person who had returned from China to Dane County went immediately to the emergency room for testing.

"We are not identifying any of the contacts, other than if people are perceived to be at risk or meet screening criteria, we will be in touch with them," said Janel Heinrich, director of public health for Madison and Dane County.

The person is being assisted by the city-county health department for their needs while under isolation. They are also undergoing continued monitoring.

"There's often serial testing that is required, which is currently being discussed, and so there isn't a certain time frame we can give people as to when they can come out of isolation," Dr. Nasia Safdar, medical director of infection control for UW Health, said.

City leaders are also telling people to check their stereotypes and prejudices at the door.

"I call on everyone in Madison and Dane County to be aware, particularly in this time, of unconscious or implicit bias," said Mayor Rhodes-Conway. "You cannot tell if someone has a risk of spreading novel coronavirus by what they look like."

In addition to the one confirmed case, seven others in the state of tested negative for the virus -- two other tests are still pending. Officials continue to stress the coronavirus risk to the greater public is very low -- as opposed to the high risk of influenza infection.

DHS officials set up a hotline for updates on coronavirus: 608-243-0587.

Symptoms of coronavirus-family illness

According to the DHS website, coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause illness in people and animals.

Human coronaviruses are common throughout the world. Some human coronaviruses were identified many years ago and some have been identified recently. Human coronaviruses commonly cause mild to moderate illness in people worldwide.

Two newer human coronaviruses, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, have been known to frequently cause severe illness.

An investigation is ongoing related to an outbreak of a new coronavirus, 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

These illnesses usually only last for a short amount of time. Symptoms may include:

DHS officials update this webpage with the number of positive, negative, and pending cases in the state each afternoon at 2 p.m.

CLICK HERE to access information about coronavirus via the CDC's website.

Below is a news release issued by DHS officials Wednesday: