MURRAY, Utah — Intermountain Healthcare announced Friday that a Utah resident who was diagnosed with the Novel Coronavirus outside of the state will be treated at a self-contained unit at the Intermountain Medical Center.
Officials say Mark Jorgensen, who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week while quarantined at a U.S. Air Force base in Californnia, will be in a special unit, separate from the hospital and in high-level isolation. It has its own entrances and has independent water and air filtration. The specialized unit is "only available at a few hospitals in the U.S.," the announcement stated.
Jorgensen was on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in early February and docked off the coast of Japan. His wife Jerri tested positive and was taken to a Japanese hospital. Mark was transported from the cruise ship to the Air Force base for further quarantine along with other Americans on board the ship about a week before he tested positive.
The treatment does not pose any public health threat, Intermountain Healthcare says.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requested Intermountain Healthcare to provide the care. Dr. Todd Vento with Intermountain added that he was transferred in order to be closer to home and family. The Jorgensens are from St. George.
"Intermountain will continue to work closely with the CDC and Utah Department of Health to address this issue and take every precaution to keep the patient, our caregivers, and the community safe," the announcement read.
