UPDATE: Wesleyan Student Monitored For Coronavirus Tests Negative

MIDDLETOWN, CT — A Wesleyan University student who recently traveled to Asia had been isolated and was being monitored after exhibiting symptoms consistent with the coronavirus, a University spokesperson told Patch on Saturday.

The school had been working with state and federal health officials after the student developed a fever and cough. And on Sunday it was reported that a high-school student from China, who was visiting Yale University for a conference in New Haven, has been placed in isolation after testing positive for the flu, the New Haven Register reports.

The student was being tested for coronavirus even though officials believed the student had influenza. The CDC confirmed that was the case Monday. The student tested negative, Wesleyan University Director of Media and Public Relations Lauren Rubenstein said in a statement emailed to Patch.

"The Centers for Disease Control has reported that the Wesleyan student being monitored has tested NEGATIVE for the coronavirus. The student is doing well.," she wrote.

On Saturday Rubenstein said that,"Out of an abundance of caution, we are working with the state Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control to determine if the student (who was traveling internationally in Asia and presented with a fever and cough) has contracted the coronavirus or not."

Rubenstein said that the "student is in isolation, and we are providing healthcare and other services."

University officials have "been in touch with everyone with whom the student had close contact since returning to campus in order to monitor them. To date, none of these individuals have exhibited symptoms of concern," Rubenstein said.

Meanwhile, there is concern about the spread of the virus as there are a number of confirmed cases and ones that are being investigated.

The New York State Department of Health has three people with symptoms being monitored and isolated to see if they have the novel coronavirus, state officials announced Friday. Their cases are being tested at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC is announcing new confirmed cases in the U.S. almost daily.

The CDC has a dedicated Novel Coronavirus page on its website and notes, "This is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation and CDC will provide updated information as it becomes available, in addition to updated guidance."

Here's What You Need To Know About Coronavirus

From a Patch report earlier this week after a Snohomish County, Washington man became ill with the deadly respiratory virus.

What is a coronavirus?

According to the CDC, coronaviruses are part of a large family of viruses that cause illnesses both in humans and animals. In rare cases, animal coronaviruses can evolve to infect people. The new virus is officially referred to as "2019 novel coronavirus" or "2019-nCoV."

How does this new virus spread?

Researchers around the globe are still determining precisely how the virus spreads. Many patients in the Wuhan outbreak had visited a large seafood and animal market, but a growing number of patients have no connection. The CDC said that indicates limited person-to-person transmission is possible — but it remains unknown how easily it spreads among people. Illnesses have been confirmed outside of China in Thailand, Japan and South Korea, as well as one case in the United States.

How severe are the symptoms?

Most coronaviruses cause mild respiratory illnesses, similar to the common cold, and a fever. Some can be more severe, such as SARS and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). Researchers do not know how long symptoms appear after an initial exposure. The man diagnosed in Washington checked in to a health clinic with a fever and a cough.

Is there a vaccine?

According to Public Health, there is no vaccine for this virus or other coronaviruses, but scientists at the National Institute of Health have said they will work toward developing one.

Is there cause for concern?

Health officials continue to say overall risk to the general public is low, with just the one U.S. case so far, and a lack of evidence that it easily spreads. "In addition, even in China there have been relatively few cases identified to-date relative to the size of the population," Duchin said. "As a point of comparison, there have been a few hundred cases and less than a dozen deaths reported globally as of today, while in a typical flu season there are hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and tens of thousands of deaths in the U.S. alone."

With reporting by Patch editor Lucas Combo and Lanning Taliaferro