The first 15 patients of the new coronavirus infections in Korea are stable as they were diagnosed and treated in the early stages, health authorities said Tuesday.

One of the patients has fully recovered and is waiting to be discharged from hospital, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said, hours before reporting the 16th case of the infection that is believed to have originated from Wuhan, China.

The fourth patient, a 55-year-old Korean man who was previously rumored to have died is stable, the KCDC confirmed.

“Most of the confirmed cases were detected early,” a KCDC official said.

“As the 15 patients were hospitalized and treated, we have confirmed a pattern that starts with coughs, and slowly develops into pneumonia.”

Signs of pneumonia, an infection that inflames the air sacs in the lungs, were not found in X-rays, but detected in computed tomography scans.

The patients only showed mild symptoms of pneumonia, the KCDC official said, adding that X-ray detections showed much more severe symptoms.

The second patient, a 55-year-old Korean man who was confirmed on Jan. 24, has already tested negative for the coronavirus infection, and is waiting to be discharged from hospital.

Generally, patients diagnosed with infectious diseases are considered to have recovered if they test negative for two days in a row. Such criteria was applied during the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2015.

The first confirmed case, a 35-year-old Chinese woman, is now hardly showing signs of pneumonia, and can conduct daily activities.

The rest are receiving treatment. If symptoms of pneumonia worsen, oxygen or respiratory therapy is administered. Antibiotic treatment is also provided, if deemed necessary, to prevent secondary infection.

The KCDC said that it still lacks information on the new coronavirus, but will collect more expert opinions to come up with the criteria to determine whether a coronavirus patient can be discharged from hospital.

The agency also plans to submit an interim report on its clinical study of 15 patients.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)