The first Russian national to test positive for the coronavirus while in the country has received a test result indicating he no longer has the virus, he told The Moscow Times on Thursday.
David Berov, 29, was quarantined in Moscow on Feb. 27, less than a week after returning from a ski trip in northern Italy, a hub for the coronavirus outbreak.
Officials had confirmed on Monday he was infected with the coronavirus.
Doctors plan to do two more tests to confirm that he is free of the virus and then discharge him, Berov told The Moscow Times.
So far in Russia seven people, including Berov, have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Two patients, who are Chinese nationals, recovered last month. Another patient is an Italian exchange student who tested positive for the virus after arriving in Russia on Feb. 29. Students at St. Petersburg’s university dormitory where he had been staying have been placed under quarantine and banned from leaving the building.
The three other patients are Russians who contracted the virus onboard a quarantined cruise ship in Japan.
Berov’s positive diagnosis prompted questions over why he was hospitalized in a room with five other returnees from other hubs for the outbreak.
The head doctor who had informed Berov of his diagnosis was unable to say whether he had caught the coronavirus in Italy or in the hospital.
Moscow City Hall announced Tuesday that everyone arriving from coronavirus hubs showing symptoms will be placed in a newly built hospital that can accommodate patients in individual rooms.
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