The Arkansas patient who was tested for the coronavirus last week does not have the illness, according to a health department news release sent Sunday.
The patient got sick after a trip to China and was put in quarantine while the state awaited the test results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are six confirmed cases in the United States, according to the CDC's website.
"ADH [Arkansas Department of Health] continues to work closely with the CDC and other agencies across the country to monitor the novel coronavirus and update the public as we learn more," the department news release says.
The confirmed U.S. cases are in California, Illinois and Washington. There are 121 "pending" cases in the United States, according to the website, which is updated on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The respiratory illness was first diagnosed in Wuhan, China, in December and has spread internationally. More than 300 people have died, and a man in the Philippines became the first person to die outside of China on Saturday.
While much is unknown about how the coronavirus spreads, the CDC says person-to-person spread is likely based on knowledge of similar illnesses. Such contact occurs most often through coughing or sneezing.
Symptoms of novel coronavirus include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, according to the CDC.
The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a "global emergency" Thursday and the federal government declared a public-health emergency Friday.
Those interested can visit healthy.arkansas.gov/programs-services/topics/novel-coronavirus or call the health department at 1-800-803-7847 for more information.
Metro on 02/03/2020