>> NARRATOR: On January 15th,
2020, a 35 year-old local man
from Snohomish County, Washington
lands at Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle.
He is traveling from
Wuhan, China.
>> He was having a cough,
he had been having fevers
at home.
He hadn’t been eating well.
>> He is 35 years old
and otherwise healthy.
>> He’s a totally healthy person.
He began developing symptoms
the day after he arrived.
>> NARRATOR: Four days
after returning from Wuhan,
the man goes to a walk-in clinic
and describes his symptoms …
… and tells them where
he has been for about
six weeks.
[Radio Broadcaster:] … a preliminary
investigation into a mysterious
pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan,
China has identified a previously
unknown coronavirus …
>> NARRATOR: In Seattle, a city
known for its cutting-edge
medicine and technology,
as well as ties to Asia,
officials are on alert.
>> At that point, the clinic
appropriately isolated him.
The health district contacted
the CDC, who advised testing,
and fortunately that clinic
had the appropriate gear
to be able to safely
test the patient.
He was then advised
to go home and quarantine.
>> NARRATOR: The clinic
sends a nasal swab they’d
taken from the man to the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention in Atlanta.
Within 24 hours, the test
comes back positive.
The first COVID-19 patient
has been confirmed
in the United States.
He is transported to Providence
Regional Medical Center
just outside Seattle where
medical staff are ready.
>> So, it took us about
two hours from the time
the CDC called for us to
get all our staff, personnel,
supplies, and the facilities
all in place to be able to give
the EMS folks the greenlight
to come in.
>> You did that in two hours?
>> In two hours.
We were ready for it.
>> NARRATOR: They were ready.
Less than three weeks
earlier, Providence Regional
Medical Center had conducted
an elaborate simulation:
pandemic training.
[News broadcaster:] … Chinese
experts reportedly found
a new coronavirus …
>> We were aware of what was
going on in Wuhan at that point,
but it was part of our routine
structure already to prepare.
>> So, you really had a go-to plan.
>> We had a game plan
in place already.
We had everyone involved
including the local EMS.
Those people that bring the
patients from point A to point B,
public health officials and
other partners we have
in the community to drill.
And so we had a variety of
scenarios we went through.
>> NARRATOR: Patient One
arrives in what’s called
an isopod, designed to keep
a patient quarantined.
>> Patient number one
arrived here in this?
>> He did.
It is completely contained,
doesn't allow any
possibility of infection.
So our patient was placed
in this by EMS and brought
to our hospital and unloaded
in his room.
>> We were ready for it.
The ambulance service was ready,
they knew the right personal
protective equipment to wear.
It was one of those absolute
coordination between the
health care, local health,
state health and the CDC.
It went perfectly.
[News broadcaster:] … South Korea
expanded its coronavirus watch zone
from Wuhan to all of China …
>> NARRATOR: But, after a
few days at Providence hospital …
[News broadcaster:] … in France,
itself, new cases have been reported …
>> NARRATOR: … patient one’s
condition begins to deteriorate.
[News broadcaster:] … travel bans
in over a dozen cities …
>> He began developing
more shortness of breath.
And because of that,
we got an x-ray which looked like
he had a developing pneumonia.
His oxygen level in his blood
was also decreasing.
>> NARRATOR: This worries
Dr. Diaz, who has been following
the dire medical reports out
of Wuhan.
>> It appeared based on
their data that once patients
begin developing pneumonia
that many of them ended up
in the ICU on a ventilator
and die.
>> NARRATOR: Patient one
is slipping fast, and there is
no known treatment.
Dr Diaz had heard about
an antiviral drug called Remdesivir
that some experts thought
could potentially help.
>> NARRATOR: It would
be an experiment, but
the patient is willing.
>> At that point, I contacted the
FDA and Gilead, the manufacturer,
to see if they would approve it.
So, the FDA gave us an approval
to try it on compassionate use basis,
knowing that it hadn’t been approved
yet and that there were no trials available
to base that decision on.
We infused it the next day.
He was still having very high fevers
and still was requiring oxygen,
the day that we gave it to him.
By the next day,
his fevers resolved,
and they stayed gone.
He felt much better.
He felt like he had started
beating the virus.
>> NARRATOR: No one knew
if the drug had an impact,
or if the virus was taking
its natural course.
>> Here’s the thing, you have
one data point here.
>> One person in the world.
it was an anecdote,
and so, we were happy
that the patient got better.
So, that part was fantastic
for the patient.
We knew then that we needed
to study this in formal clinical trial.
>> NARRATOR: A few days later,
patient one was well enough
to be sent home.
>> Patient number one
was here.
As much as anything,
it was a reflection of
how ready you were,
in a way.
>> Correct.
I’m sure there were
other patients in the country.
We were ready
to detect it.
>> Patient number one
in the United States did
everything right.
But by then, it was probably
already spreading in areas
in the United States, and we were
just very slow to pick up on it.
