Utah man who tested positive for coronavirus released from hospital

 After six weeks apart, the Jorgensen’s are reunited, back home in St. George.

The Jorgensen’s tell ABC4 News Mark arrived at home around 4 a.m. Friday after being released from Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, where he was being treated for the coronavirus, at the direction of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He has had no symptoms throughout the course of his quarantine and is currently under a state-issued order to remain isolated from the community — which will remain in place until he receives two consecutive negative test results for COVID-19, according to health officials.

Mark and his wife Jerri said that while they’re together in their home and Mark’s most recent test results came back positive, they’re under special rules. Mark has a court-order to stay inside their home, where he and Jerri are sleeping in separate bedrooms and using separated bathrooms. If they’re in the same room, they have to wear masks and stay six feet apart, they said.

“That was kind of weird, seeing each other — we just kind of went “Hi!” and waved to each other from the distance wearing masks,” Mark said in a Facebook live video Friday afternoon.

The Southwest Utah Public Health Department announced the patient does not pose a risk to the public.

“We have made contact with this patient and have begun our monitoring procedures,” says Dr. David Blodgett, SWUPHD Health Officer and Director, wrote in a press release. “We will continue to work closely with local, state, and federal public health partners to address any future COVID-19 cases in our community.”

“While there are currently no laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in Utah right now, we do expect community spread at some point. We are ready and prepared for when that happens,” said Dr. Angela Dunn, state epidemiologist at the Utah Department of Health.

Jerri arrived in St. George  late Wednesday evening after being medically cleared of the virus while at a hospital in Japan, receiving two consecutive negative test results. She stated she will continue to avoid public places for several weeks, sticking to mountain biking throughout the St. George area.

Health officials say Jerri is not infectious and even if she goes on a few bike paths, it’s not a public health threat.

“In the open air like that, the virus would rapidly be killed,” Blodgett told ABC4 News over the phone.

Mark took to Facebook Friday to answer questions. He remains asymptomatic and feels great.