MADISON — A patient who visited the University of Wisconsin-Madison University Hospital is confirmed to have the novel coronavirus, health officials said Wednesday.
The patient, who recently visited Beijing, China, went straight to the hospital when they got back into town, and are now self-isolating at home.
No other information on the patient is being released at the moment but the Mayor of Madison, Satya Rhodes-Conway, says they will remain in self-quarantine.
“They are still in isolation at home and will remain there until testing show they no longer have the coronavirus. I want to emphasize this. In Dane County a person’s chances of getting sick from this novel coronavirus remains very low,” said Rhodes-Conway.
Doctors at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison say they have been preparing for a possible case of the virus since the news started to come out of China, but they are still surprised it's here.
"We probably weren't expecting Wisconsin specifically. Certainly some of the bigger travel hubs around the country we thought they might be, and some have seen cases. On the other hand viruses don’t know where Wisconsin is or where Madison is, and they go wherever people go,” said Dr. Nasia Safdar.
Officials have also announced a coronavirus hotline. That number is (608) 243-0587.
