TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) - As the coronavirus pandemic continues, several people are reporting that they have recovered from the disease.

Johns Hopkins University reported over 400,000 people have recovered from the coronavirus worldwide.

Tupelo native Dan Ballard hopes to join those who beat the disease. The upbeat 80-year-old was diagnosed with the coronavirus in March.

“I was feeling really bad before I went to the hospital,” said Ballard.

Once he got to the North Mississippi Medical Center with a temperature over 105 degrees, doctors diagnosed him with COVID-19.

Ballard said he took the diagnosis in stride.

“I accept things. I had it; there was nothing I could do about it,” said Ballard.

After two days in the hospital, doctors released him under strict home care guidelines

“We had to monitor his temp and I had to continue to give him the hydroxychloroquine and the Z-PACK,” said Ballard's wife Sandra.

After a few weeks of medication and quarantining, Ballard's health finally started to improve.

“I’ve been up and around and so on and so forth,” said Ballard.

Ballard was recently retested and had negative test results. In order for him to be officially cleared, he has to test negative two times within 24 hours.

He says after he receives the test results for his second test, he’ll be able to join the group of 32,000 people in the country that beat the disease.

Ballard says once he’s cleared, he plans to get back to work.