An Olympia woman who was a passenger on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan has been confirmed to have the COVID-19 — coronavirus — and is being treated under isolation at a California hospital.
Marianne Obenchain, 59, was admitted to Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, California, on Monday, according to news reports. She and another patient were flown to the hospital from Travis Air Force Base, in Solano County, California, where they arrived from Japan after being under quarantine on the Diamond Princess cruise ship for about two weeks.
The patients are being held in isolation rooms that have negative pressure to minimize the risk of exposure, Dr. Amy Herold, chief medical officer at Queen of the Valley, said in a statement on the hospital’s website. The statement did not identify the patients by name, but Obenchain spoke Wednesday with KING5.
“When I found out, I just thought back ‘well you know I haven’t shown any symptoms yet, so I’m still doing good,’ so I’m not going to complain,” Obenchain told KING5.
Queen of the Valley is also working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Napa County Public Health “to ensure the safety and well-being of our caregivers, patients and visitors,”
“Our hospital is equipped to handle the virus,” Herold said. “Our caregivers are well prepared; they have received training, have practiced for these scenarios and are wearing protective equipment to minimize their risk of exposure.
“No hospital operations are impacted.”
Obenchain is the second Washingtonian confirmed to have COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus.
