Update: Patient Tests Negative For Coronavirus In North Carolina

RALEIGH, NC — The North Carolina Division of Health and Human Services said late Saturday that a patient tested negative for the novel coronavirus that first appeared in China. The patient presented with mild respiratory symptoms and was in isolation at Duke University Hospital while the CDC tested for the new and sometimes deadly virus.

North Carolina Division of Public Health said the traveler is not infected with the virus. Negative results were received from testing performed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

“We are pleased that test results were negative and that the patient remains in good health,” said Dr. Zack Moore, state epidemiologist. “We are working with CDC and local partners to be sure we are prepared to detect and respond to any possible cases that might occur in North Carolina in the future.”

According to health officials, the person recently passed through Wuhan, China, where the virus originated, before returning to North Carolina via Raleigh-Durham International Airport Jan. 23.

Cases of the new coronavirus in China have reached nearly 2,000 in recent days, NBC News reported. Authorities in China have closed the airport in Wuhan and the train stations in the region in hopes of containing the outbreak. A small number of novel coronavirus cases have been confirmed in other countries, including Australia, France, Japan, Singapore and Thailand.

The person did not have close contact with anyone after disembarking at the airport in North Carolina and wore a mask the entire time while at the airport, health officials said. The person was transported directly to the hospital from the airport for assessment, and health officials said people who were at airport or the hospital at the same time as this individual are not considered at risk for infection.

Health officials have been tracking the illness globally since it emerged in Wuhan last month. At least 440 infections have been confirmed in the time since, including 17 deaths, according to the latest reports from China.

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."

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.

Patch staffer Lucas Combos contributed to this report.

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