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Jin Beom-sik (second from left), a professor of infectious diseases at the National Medical Center, explains the treatment process and reasons behind discharging a novel coronavirus patient who was deemed fully recovered on Feb. 5. (Kim Hye-yun, staff photographer)

The second of 19 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in South Korea to date was discharged on Feb. 5 after 13 days of hospitalization. He was the first individual deemed to have made a full recovery within South Korea.

During a press conference at the National Medical Center (NMC) in Seoul’s Jung (Central) District that day, the center explained, “The sore throat and other clinical symptoms of the second patient, who was admitted with a confirmed diagnosis on Jan. 24, disappeared as of his seventh day of hospitalization [Jan. 30].”

“After a ‘negative’ result was obtained two or more times in subsequent tests performed at 24-hour intervals, the patient satisfied the conditions for discharge and was released today [Feb. 5],” the center said.

The center explained that the decision to discharge the first fully recovered patient was made by the NMC’s 2019-nCoronavirus Clinical Task Force based on a combination of objective clinical data and discussions with experts. The task force was formed on Jan. 31 to share clinical data on confirmed diagnoses and discuss treatment strategies.

Jin Beom-sik, a professor of infectious diseases at NMC and the second patient’s physician, explained, “Medications were administered starting on the third day of hospitalization [Jan. 26], and indications of improvement were seen in chest X-rays as of around the third day after beginning administration of the antiviral Kaletra [a drug used in AIDS treatment].”

“The virus was not detected in either the upper or lower respiratory tract from the fifth day of hospitalization [Jan. 28] through the 10th day [Feb. 2],” he continued.

“Since this is a novel infectious disease, we applied a more conservative standard than in the past and were more cautious about the discharge decision,” Jin said.

“There were symptoms such as coughing as late as Jan. 29, while the date on which the virus was not detected in Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testing was two days earlier on Jan. 27. [The patient] met the standard for discharge as of between Jan. 31 and Feb. 1,” he added.

Doctors saw the chances of the virus being transmitted during the patient’s remaining recovery period as low.

Bang Ji-hwan, director of the NMC task force, said, “Since the patient has entered his recovery period and the virus has been confirmed not to be present, there doesn’t appear to be any need for concern that he might transmit the disease to others after discharge.

At the same time, it was explained that the patient would be subject to regular outpatient tracking and observation -- as with the MERS outbreak in 2015 -- due to the possibility of unexpected complications after discharge. The second patient is to begin receiving outpatient treatment around Feb. 15.

During the Feb. 5 press conference, reference was also made to the condition and possible discharge of the first patient, a 35-year-old Chinese female who received a confirmed diagnosis on Jan. 20, and the 13th patient, a 28-year-old South Korean male who arrived from Wuhan on Jan. 31.

Kim Jin-yong, an Incheon Medical Center infectious disease specialist supervising treatment for the first patient, explained, “Her symptoms improved individually over the course of the weekend, and the virus was not detected in two tests on Feb. 1 and 2.”

“If the results from the Feb. 3 and 4 tests are also negative, we plan to discontinue isolation around Feb. 6. But since the patient is Chinese and there is no way for her to return to Wuhan at present, the date of discharge will need to be discussed further,” he added.

The 13th patient, who was admitted to NMC after entering South Korea in asymptomatic condition, has remained stable with no symptoms beyond mild pneumonia. Jin Beom-sik said, “I think it’s going to be critical to look at virus emissions and confirm whether he meets the criteria for discharge.”

By Seon Dam-eun, staff reporter

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