Harnett County man being treated with malaria drug for coronavirus

A Bunnlevel man who was the first confirmed case of the coronavirus in Harnett County was taken to the hospital after his condition worsened, his wife said Friday.

Jeff Hensley, 57, was diagnosed with COVID-19 last Friday, and he was being cared for at home by his wife, who is a nurse who worked at Nash UNC Health Care in Rocky Mount in the days before her husband was diagnosed.

Toni Hensley posted to Facebook Thursday night that her husband had trouble breathing.

"He is in ICU, but he's stable," Toni Hensley said on Friday. "He's not on a ventilator or anything; he's on oxygen and getting breathing treatment."

She said part of his treatment included a malaria drug that health officials are testing to see if it is effective treating the novel coronavirus.

“I’m hoping that will make him turn around,” she said. “Maybe it’ll help him get better.”

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