The case involves an “older adult woman with chronic health conditions” who did not have any recent travel history or known contact with a traveler or infected person, according to a press release obtained by KRON4. She was hospitalized for respiratory illness, but later her doctor requested testing for the novel coronavirus. She is now under isolation at home.
Santa Clara County Public Health Department said that “[n]ow is the time to prepare for the possibility of widespread community transmission.”
“This new case indicates that there is evidence of community transmission, but the extent is still not clear,” said Dr. Sara Cody, Health Officer for Santa Clara County and Director of the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department, per the release. “I understand this may be concerning to hear, but this is what we have been preparing for. Now we need to start taking additional actions to slow down the spread of the disease.”
Earlier today the California Department of Public Health announced that CDC test kits used to detect COVID-19 had arrived in California.
The CDC committed to the state today to send more kits to California—enough to conduct more than 1,000 tests.
The first case of ‘unknown origin’ in the United States was noted earlier this week. The California Department of Public Health said that the individual is a woman in Solano County, who is receiving medical care at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento County. The woman had no known contact with other known infected people and no recent travel history.
“This would be the first known instance of person-to-person transmission in the general public in the United States,” the California Department of Public Health said.
The patient is notable because they might be the first person to be infected through community spread inside the United States, according to the CDC.
The case prompted Solano County to declare a local emergency, which gives officials more power to deal with the potential spread of the virus. Counties in California and New York have begun declaring local emergencies.
The department noted that other person-to-person transmissions in the United States came from known sources and involved cases in Chicago, Illinois, and San Benito County, California.
“Both cases were after close, prolonged interaction with a family member who returned from Wuhan, China, and had tested positive for COVID-19,” the department said.
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Article URL : https://www.theepochtimes.com/second-us-coronavirus-case-of-unknown-origin_3255021.html