Ill Ellenton man in isolation at Bradenton hospital. He has been tested for coronavirus
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A 71-year-old Ellenton man being treated at Manatee Memorial Hospital has been tested for the novel coronavirus.
John Paris was admitted to Manatee Memorial Hospital on Monday afternoon after going to the emergency room with a cough, fever and severe fatigue after being sick for nine days, his wife Kim, told the Bradenton Herald.
Late Tuesday morning, after every other possible cause for his symptoms had been ruled out, Paris was tested for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Hospital staff told the couple it would be Thursday at the earliest before they know the test results, Kim Paris said.
The couple, winter residents from Champaign, Ill., have not traveled since January so he could not have caught the virus abroad.
Kim Paris said she has notified Colony Cove, the large mobile home community in Ellenton where they reside, of what is happening.
John Paris is now in isolation in his hospital room, with the airflow in the room being restricted from the rest of the hospital. Access to his room is also being restricted to one nurse per shift and an infectious disease doctor. When in the room, they are wearing personal protective equipment.
Manatee Health Department staff stood at the door and waited for a nurse to hand them the swabs when Paris was tested for the coronavirus on Tuesday.
Kim Paris said she, too, has to wear a gown and mask in order to stay with her husband.
“Every test they have done has come back negative,” Kim Paris said. “It makes you think more, the coronavirus.”
The Manatee Health Department has not responded to any questions regarding the case.
Hospital confirms coronavirus testing
The hospital confirmed that Paris had been tested.
“We have tested a patient via a private lab, not through the CDC. The Florida Department of Health has been guiding and assisting in this process,” Manatee Memorial Hospital Kevin DiLallo said in a statement to the Bradenton Herald.
DiLallo says the hospital does have the capability to test patients for the virus but that specimens are being sent to the outside private lab, to the the health department or to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are expecting results to take several days.
“Manatee Memorial Hospital practices universal precautions for many types of suspected infections. We will continue to take precautions to protect our employees and patients,” DiLallo said.
This is only the second patient to have been tested at Manatee Memorial for the novel coronavirus, with the previous patient testing negative.
In all, two Manatee County residents have tested possible for the coronavirus. Despite a steady increase in the number of cases statewide and nationally, officials say the risk of infection for most people remains low.
Couple’s neighbors warned of possible coronavirus
On Tuesday afternoon, Kim Paris made the decision to notify the Colony Cove mobile home community, where she and her husband live seasonally, she said, out of an abundance of caution, even though he hasn’t had regular contact with his neighbors.
“The decision to do it outweighed to not do it,” Kim Paris said.
Moments later, Colony Cove emailed a newsletter to residents and posted a message on its private Facebook group, notifying residents of the possible case of COVID-19.
“I have just been contacted by a Colony Cove resident that asked me to disclose that a family member is in the hospital and symptomatic for the coronavirus,” the message said. “They will update me when the results have been received. This person is not very social within the community but wants residents to know the situation so we can choose to take precautions.”
Paris on March 4 went to the Ellenton Urgent Care facility and was given antibiotics and cough suppressants for his cough and fatigue. His wife said the screening “didn’t lean towards coronavirus,” when he was seen at the urgent care, Kim Paris said.
His condition began to deteriorate on Sunday, as he became more lethargic throughout the day. When he developed a fever on Monday, his wife took him to the emergency room, she said.
In 2012, her husband was diagnosed with an early stage of lung cancer and had to have the right lower lobe of a lung removed, so she is always cautious when he has any respiratory illnesses, she said.
It was about 1 p.m. when the couple arrived to the emergency room on Monday, and they sat in the general waiting area for more than three hours. John Paris was without a mask and so fatigued that he had to sit in a wheelchair. It was just before 5 p.m. when he was told he would be admitted.
By midnight, John Paris was officially placed in isolation.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 12:36 PM.
