Case 1
Case 1 was a male doctor in his 40s with an exposure history to COVID-19 patients. He experienced fever (up to 39.3 °C), chill and fatigue on 15 January (Figure 1). Chest CT showed lung infection in the lower left lobe on 18 January, and he was admitted to hospital on the same day. During the hospitalisation from 18 January to 10 February, his condition first deteriorated and then reached remission on 28 January. Throat swab tests for SARS-CoV-2 were positive on 28 January and 2 February, and turned negative on 7 and 9 February. Stool tests of SARS-CoV-2, first conducted on 7 February, were also negative on 7 and 9 February. The exact Ct values were unavailable.
Figure 1  Throat swab virus tests and chest computed tomography findings of COVID-19 Case 1 from symptom onset to post-discharge, China, January–February 2020
Chest CT showed worse status on 18, 20, 23 and 29 January and showed improved status on 4 February.
Red: positive virus detection in throat swabs; pink: weakly positive virus detection in throat swabs; green: negative virus detection in throat swabs; dates marked with an asterisk: negative virus detection in stool. After discharge on 10 February, he was kept under surveillance and quarantined at home. He did not experience discomfort during the follow-up period. The results of consecutive throat swab tests were negative on 13 February, weakly positive on 14 February, positive on 15 February, negative on 16 February, weakly positive on 18 February, negative on 20 February and negative on 22 February. Stool was not tested after discharge.