Wife of coronavirus patient in coma speaks out on his condition

A US father of newborn twins who tested positive for coronavirus is now in a coma, and his wife wants everyone to take the virus seriously.

The Connecticut man, whose identity is being withheld, began experiencing symptoms over a couple of days, after attending a work conference in San Francisco.

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He developed a fever which was initially attributed to the flu, but then received a positive diagnosis for coronavirus. From there, things went from bad to worse.

According to an online fundraising page set up by his wife, "he quickly progressed to bilateral pneumonia and was hospitalised a week later in respiratory distress. He is now in the ICU in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator. His condition is guarded."

Her message urged everyone to take the threat of COVID-19 seriously. "I know some people are saying this is hysteria, but I think it's really important for people to take this seriously," she reportedly told Hearst.

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"My husband got really sick, really fast."

His wife, and their newborn twins, have remained at home under quarantine. She is unable to work "for the foreseeable future", but claims that neither her nor her children have shown any symptoms of the illness.

She claims her husband's condition does seem to be improving, though doctors call his recovery a "marathon, not a sprint".

"He can fight this thing I know it," she wrote. "I miss him so much. I haven't gone 24 hours not talking to him in 5.5 years. I had to replay some old voicemails back from when we were dating, to hear his voice… I can't wait for the day I can hug him again."

Luckily, the man did not come into close contact with many people after arriving home from the conference. His wife told Hearst his steps were retraced by authorities, who said they could "count on one hand" the number of people with whom he'd interacted.

In the United States, there have been over 1,200 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 37 deaths as of Friday morning.