'Patient No. 1' in US is now 'back to his normal life'
On Jan. 20, 2020, the first COVID-19 patient in the United States, known as "patient No. 1," was brought to a Washington state hospital.
Dr. George Diaz, the head of infectious diseases at Providence Regional Medical Center in Seattle, treated that patient. Diaz would later learn how to isolate COVID-19 patients properly, how to protect hospital staff and how to treat the illness.
"We used Remdesivir, which was a new anti-viral at the time. He was the first patient to receive this drug in the world, and he had a good response to treatment," Diaz told ABC's "Nightline."
"Patient No. 1" was treated for five days before being released from the hospital, Diaz said. One year later, he is "doing great," Diaz said.
"He's fully recovered and back to his normal life," Diaz said. "Many people survive the illness but have lots of medical problems afterwards. Fortunately, Patient One recovered well."
ABC News’ Lauren Effron contributed to this report.