The two Chicago residents who contracted COVID-19, a disease stemming from a new form of coronavirus, were released from home isolation Friday following their recovery, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health.
The two patients — a husband and wife, both in their 60s — were released from AMITA Health St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates approximately a week earlier.
The woman was the second person diagnosed with the virus in the U.S., health officials announced on Jan. 24. She returned from Wuhan, China —the epicenter of a recent outbreak — on Jan. 13 and was later hospitalized, a state epidemiologist with the Illinois Department of Public Health said in announcing the diagnosis last month.
"They have now had multiple rounds of negative testing for the virus and are clinically well," Dr. Allison Arwady, CDPH commissioner, said in a news release issued Saturday. "They do not need to wear masks, and neither does anyone interacting with them. They have been cleared.”
On Jan. 30, the CDC announced that the woman's husband tested positive for the virus, marking the first instance of person-to-person spread in the U.S.
He had "close contact" with his wife and reported symptoms, health officials said. He was admitted to an area hospital on Jan. 28, the IDPH said, where his condition was stabilized.
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More than 50,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in worldwide and more than 1,300 deaths - the vast majority in Chian, according to Chicago health officials.
Symptoms reported among patients have included mild to severe respiratory illness with fever, cough, and difficulty breathing.
