niman

Mar 6 Grand Princess Cruise 1st leg SF to Mexico Half of passengers from CA Alerted by COVID positive Solano and Placer co passengers At least 18 passengers have been COVID confirmed in US and Canada 2nd leg SF to Hawaii to Mexico to SF Intercepted after Hawaii 21/46 positive 19/21 positives are crew members New Rochelle NY cluster grows to 44 Link to NJ and AIPAC Washington DC attendees Many more expected http://mediaarchives.gsradio.net/rense/special/rense_030620_hr3.mp3

Virus detail Virus name: hCoV-19/USA/CA-CDPH-UC1/2020 Accession ID: EPI_ISL_413557 Type: betacoronavirus Passage details/history: Original Sample information Collection date: 2020-02-28 Location: North America / USA / California / Sonoma County Host: Human

UCSF has released a sequence (at GISAID), hCoV-19/USA/CA-CDPH-UC1/2020 from a Solano Co case who was on the first trip of the Grand Princess cruise ship, that matches a series of sequences from King Co Washington, including the LTCF.

Utah Health Officials Announce First Case of COVID-19 MARCH 6, 2020 FEATURED-NEWS (Salt Lake City, UT) – The Utah Department of Health (UDOH), Davis County Health Department (DCHD), and the COVID-19 Community Task Force tonight confirmed the first known case of COVID-19 in Utah. A press briefing will be held tonight, March 6 at 9:00 p.m. at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at the Utah State Capitol. Speakers will include Governor Gary R. Herbert, UDOH State Epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn, DCHD Executive Director Brian Hatch, and UDOH Executive Director Dr. Joseph Miner. Media should access the EOC via the west steps of the State Capitol, an escort will be present to lead you to the EOC. The patient is believed to have been exposed to COVID-19 while on a recent cruise aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship. It’s important to recognize this case does not represent community spread of COVID-19 in Utah. After returning to Utah, the patient visited their health care provider after developing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 infection. The patient’s medical provider collected a clinical sample and submitted it to the Utah Public Health Laboratory (UPHL) for testing. Because the sample was tested by UPHL, the case is considered to be a “presumptive positive” and further confirmatory testing will be carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient is a resident of Davis County and is older than 60. To protect the patient’s privacy, no further details about them will be released. The patient is recovering at home and is under a county-issued isolation order. The Davis County Health Department will monitor the patient, as well as any of the patient’s close contacts. The COVID-19 Community Task Force, under the leadership of Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, is monitoring the situation closely, and is prepared to offer any necessary assistance to the Davis County Health Department. “Our first priority will be ensuring the patient’s family members and medical providers are monitored for potential symptoms and tested, if necessary,” said Brian Hatch, director of the Davis County Health Department. “We will also work closely with the patient to determine if they may have exposed any other members of the community.” The UDOH will assist the DCHD in identifying and contacting anyone who may have been in close contact with the confirmed case. These individuals will be monitored for fever and respiratory symptoms. “Even though a person in Utah has developed the illness, the risk to the general public remains low,” said Dr. Angela Dunn, Utah State Epidemiologist. “However, this case does represent a turning point in our response. Home isolation of confirmed cases who aren’t sick enough to be hospitalized is a proven measure that will help limit the spread of disease. We need the public to understand this, as isolating these types of cases at home will become more routine as we identify additional cases.” “First and foremost, I’m hopeful this patient will make a fast and full recovery. This is undoubtedly a frightening situation for their patient and their family, and we stand ready to assist them,” said Governor Gary R. Herbert. “Utah residents should feel confident that all levels of state and local government, and our health care providers have been preparing for this moment for many weeks now. We will certainly see additional cases in the near future, and we are prepared to take the necessary steps to protect the public’s health and limit the spread of this illness.” The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to what someone may be experiencing as the result of seasonal influenza – namely a fever, cough, or shortness of breath. These symptoms on their own are not worrisome and should not cause alarm. But if someone exhibits these symptoms who has recently traveled to areas with widespread COVID-19 illness or has been in close contact with a known positive case, that individual should immediately notify their health care provider, who will coordinate with the appropriate public health officials to determine next steps. There is currently no vaccine available for coronavirus and it is flu and respiratory disease season. The UDOH recommends getting vaccinated for influenza, and taking everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs including regular hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or an elbow, and staying home when you’re sick. All nonessential travel to areas affected by COVID-19 is also discouraged. More information about novel coronavirus can be found at coronavirus.utah.gov or at cdc.gov/coronavirus. # # # Media Contact: COVID-19 Media Line (385) 429-0015

The patient is believed to have been exposed to COVID-19 while on a recent cruise aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship. It’s important to recognize this case does not represent community spread of COVID-19 in Utah. https://health.utah.gov/featured-news/utah-health-officials-announce-first-case-of-covid-19

2 Attendees Of AIPAC Conference — Where Two-Thirds Of Congress Also Attended — Test Positive For Coronavirus BY CHRIS WALKER March 7, 2020 Thousands of attendees of an event put on by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) have apparently been exposed to coronavirus, after it was announced that two attendees at the event tested positive for the disease on Friday evening. U.S. Department of State/Flickr AIPAC sent out a tweet revealing the diagnoses were made. “We have confirmed that at least two Policy Conference attendees from New York have tested positive for the coronavirus,” they wrote in their social media post. Guidance from health professionals “continues to be that all conference participants should follow CDC guidelines and consult their health care providers if they feel ill or have medical questions,” the message also read. 808 people are talking about this AIPAC puts on one of the highest-attended political conferences each year. According to Ryan Grim, D.C. bureau chief for The Intercept, more than 18,000 were in attendance at the event — including two-thirds of lawmakers from Congress. “On Tuesday, thousands of conference-goers visited Hill offices,” Grim added. 2,913 people are talking about this Due to confidentiality requirements, it’s not clear whether the two individuals who tested positive for coronavirus had any direct contact with speakers, other conference-goers, or the lawmakers who attended the event. The fact that there is a chance at all, however, is demonstrative of how fast COVID-19 has spread so far in the U.S. in just a few short weeks. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also attended the event. This year, President Donald Trump did not attend. As of Friday evening, at least 300 individuals in the United States had tested positive for the disease. The number of people who have died from coronavirus so far sits at around 15, according to reporting from the New York Times. Those numbers do not include totals from a cruise ship off the coast of California, where 21 additional individuals have also tested positive. Everyone on board that ship is set to be tested shortly, the Times reported. At a news conference last week, in spite of health officials warning that more cases would be identified, Trump said that “within a couple of days” the number of coronavirus cases “is going to be down to close to zero.” Featured image credit: U.S. Department of State/Flickr

“We have confirmed that at least two Policy Conference attendees from New York have tested positive for the coronavirus,” they wrote in their social media post. https://hillreporter.com/2-attendees-of-aipac-conference-where-two-thirds-of-congress-also-attended-test-positive-for-coronavirus-60352?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Posted: Mar 6, 2020 / 03:24 PM HST / Updated: Mar 6, 2020 / 04:23 PM HST HONOLULU (KHON) — In a news conference, Governor David Ige and Department of Health officials confirmed Hawaii’s first case of COVID-19. The person infected is a Hawaii resident who was a passenger aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship that docked on Oahu in late February. As of now, there have been 21 cases of coronavirus from the cruise ship. The resident returned home after the cruise, did not feel well after a few days and went to see their doctor. The person was then tested and found to be positive for coronavirus. The Department of Health said, “We don’t believe the patient had close contact with anyone else, but we’re still investigating.”

The person infected is a Hawaii resident who was a passenger aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship that docked on Oahu in late February. As of now, there have been 21 cases of coronavirus from the cruise ship. https://www.khon2.com/coronavirus-2/gov-ige-confirms-first-case-of-coronavirus-in-hawaii/

A Chicago Public Schools aide has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, state and local officials said at a news conference Friday evening. The patient — a Chicago resident in her 50s — is a special education classroom assistant at Vaughn Occupation High School on Chicago's North Side, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. The woman, who remains hospitalized in stable condition, recently disembarked from the Grand Princess cruise ship in California, where 21 people on board tested positive for the coronavirus.

The woman, who remains hospitalized in stable condition, recently disembarked from the Grand Princess cruise ship in California, where 21 people on board tested positive for the coronavirus. https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-public-schools-employee-6th-coronavirus-patient-in-illinois/2232615/

Sequence is known and PCR test is specific for SARS CoV and many sequences from positives have been published. It is real and is a pandemic.

New Cases Include 8 in Westchester County and 3 in Nassau County Announces Travel Agents and Travel Insurers Will Offer 'Cancel for Any Reason' Travel Policies in New York State - Six Global and National Insurance Companies Agree to Offer Coverage NYS Interagency Task Force Continues to Coordinate with Local Governments and Healthcare Partners to Monitor and Respond to the Novel Coronavirus Outbreak Governor Cuomo: "The process is working. You get a case and you follow that case and you test that case because you want to find the people who were infected. You want to isolate those people so there is not continued spread." Governor Cuomo: "The Department of Financial Services, Superintendent Linda Lacewell is going to announce a program where she is going to authorize travel insurance which you can purchase which is unconditional... if you buy this insurance, you cancel for any reason, including anything related to the coronavirus, you can get the full amount of your airline ticket back and we think that will provide comfort and encourage people." During a briefing on the novel coronavirus, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today confirmed 11 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 44 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the new cases identified since this morning, eight are located in Westchester County and three are located in Nassau County. Of the 44 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows: Nassau County: 4 Rockland County: 2 New York City: 4 Westchester County: 34 Additionally, the Governor announced travel insurance companies and travel agents will offer New York residents and businesses the ability to purchase coverage when making travel plans that would allow them to cancel a trip for any reason, including for reasons related to COVID-19. VIDEO of the Governor's update is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here. AUDIO of today's update is available here. PHOTOS of today's update will be available on the Governor's Flickr page. A rush transcript is available below: We heard that you missed us and since I never want to cause any distress to the press on any level we came back. A continued update because the more information the better, and I think the more we communicate with the people of the State and they get actual facts as opposed to theories and hype and politics - I think that is all better. We are continuing to test and the testing is now ramping up as we discussed earlier. So we have a greater capacity to test and we are turning around more tests. And during the day today we had 11 new cases, eight in Westchester and 3 in Nassau County. That bring the total to 44 cases. The cases in Westchester and Nassau we have to do more investigation, but we suspect they are related to the existing cases. The cases in Westchester have a number of young people and they have older people. Westchester there is a 12 year old female, 17 year old male, 45 year old male - I'm sorry - 55 year old male, 14 year old male, 7 year old male, 51 year old male, 82 year old male. Nassau, 63 year old female, 41 year old female, 36 year old female. This is actually good news in some ways because it says the process is working. You get a case and you follow that case and you test that case because you want to find the people who were infected. You want to isolate those people so there is not continued spread. That is what this is all about. It is not a perfect process but the more people who you can tell are positive and stop them from infecting other people the better. So we're continuing to do this, continue to inform people who are positive to quarantine themselves so they don't infect other people, and that's how we will work to contain the virus. That nice noise suggests, we don't know what it suggests, so that's the update. One other announcement, one of the issues, one of the consequences to this, an economic consequence is people are worried about traveling, not just to the countries on the CDC watch list, but just traveling in general because they're afraid if they make plans they may be canceled. If they buy an airline ticket it may be canceled. Something may come up. That is constricting travel, constricting business travel, it's not good for New York, it's not good for any state because it can actually slow the economy. It's one thing to make a purposeful decision to stop a gathering. It's another thing to have people just cancelling trips because they're afraid something may come up and they'll be unable to redeem the airline ticket, etcetera. The Department of Financial Services, Superintendent Linda Lacewell is going to announce a program where she is going to authorize travel insurance which you can purchase which is unconditional. They have travel insurance programs but they normally exempt epidemics, diseases, etcetera. She is going to authorize an unconditional travel insurance program so if you buy this insurance, you cancel for any reason, including anything related to the coronavirus, you can get the full amount of your airline ticket back and we think that will provide comfort and encourage people. Contact the Governor's Press Office Contact us by phone: Albany: (518) 474 - 8418 New York City: (212) 681 - 4640 Contact us by email: [email protected] Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

during the day today we had 11 new cases, eight in Westchester and 3 in Nassau County. That bring the total to 44 cases. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-novel-coronavirus-briefing-governor-cuomo-confirms-11-1

Quarantined on the ship (again!)

Pay attention to co-morbidities on Grand Princess Swab test developed CDC Available in all health labs 900,000 tests sent out yesterday 1,000,000 more next weeks

Coronavirus: Ventura County's 1st case of COVID-19 confirmed in patient who traveled aboard Grand Princess cruise VENTURA, Calif. (KABC) -- Ventura County's presumptive first case of novel coronavirus has been confirmed, health officials confirmed Friday.The infected patient had traveled on the Grand Princess cruise ship from San Francisco to Mexico and returned to the port of entry in that city on Feb. 21, 2020, Ventura County spokeswoman Ashley Bautista said in a statement. An elderly person traveled on the same ship and later died in Northern California's Placer County after testing positive for COVID-19, the news release said."The cruise destination was not on the list of at-risk destinations so the travelers that disembarked the ship on February 21, 2020 were not under travel restrictions or health checks upon return," the statement said.The Ventura County Public Health Lab, one of eleven labs in the state able to conduct testing, confirmed that county's novel coronavirus case on March 5, 2020, Bautista said. Secondary confirmation is pending from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. DEVELOPING: More details will be added to this report as they become available.

The infected patient had traveled on the Grand Princess cruise ship from San Francisco to Mexico and returned to the port of entry in that city on Feb. 21, 2020, Ventura County spokeswoman Ashley Bautista said in a statement. https://abc7.com/health/coronavirus-ventura-countys-1st-case-of-covid-19-confirmed/5991362/

21 out of 46 coronavirus positive. 19/21 were crew members. All passengers will be tested.

First case of coronavirus confirmed in Minnesota The patient is elderly and lives in Ramsey County. ADAM UREN 33 MINUTES AGO The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed the first case of coronavirus in the state. The department said the first "presumptive" case of the COVID-19 virus has been found in an elderly patient in Ramsey County. The patient has recently been on a cruise ship where the virus had been confirmed in another patient. They began to develop symptoms on Feb. 25 and sought medical help on Thursday. Tests quickly confirmed the COVID-19 infection, with the patient being kept in isolation at home. Work is underway to identify those who have been in contact with the patient, and these people will be asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days. The MDH had said earlier on Friday that it had conducted 36 tests for coronavirus since the outbreak, all of which had been negative. Gov. Tim Walz is expected to reveal more details at a press conference at 4 p.m., alongside Dept. of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm. The CDC has said the best way to avoid contracting or spreading the virus is to wash your hands regularly, cough or sneezes into tissues or your elbow, don't touch your eyes, mouth or nose, and stay home if you're sick.

The patient has recently been on a cruise ship where the virus had been confirmed in another patient. They began to develop symptoms on Feb. 25 and sought medical help on Thursday. https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/first-suspected-case-of-coronavirus-confirmed-in-minnesota

PLACER COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH CONFIRMS 3 NEW COVID-19 CASES, ALL WITH TIES TO CRUISE SHIP Placer County Public Health confirmed three additional COVID-19 cases on Thursday evening after receiving presumptively positive test results, bringing the total number of local cases to five including the one death announced previously. The three new cases were from South and Mid Placer and all traveled on the Grand Princess cruise ship from San Francisco to Mexico Feb. 11-21. Two had mild symptoms that have already resolved; the third currently has mild symptoms. All three are isolated at home and none required hospitalization. Placer County Public Health is in the initial stages of contact investigations for these passengers to identify any potential exposures that may have occurred in the window of concern. “We are moving as quickly as possible to limit the spread of disease,” said Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson. “To be frank, we would not be surprised to see a second wave of cases connected to these cruise passengers given the amount of time that’s passed since they disembarked.” Placer County Public Health contacted all cruise passengers in the Placer jurisdiction after receiving a list from the cruise company on Wednesday and all are in quarantine through Friday, March 6; that is, 14 days since disembarking. Those exhibiting or who have exhibited any symptoms of illness are being tested and additional results are expected in the coming days. Going forward, updated case numbers will be posted to www.placer.ca.gov/coronavirus on a regular basis. Public Health strongly urges that community members take precautions to help prevent the spread of illness including COVID-19: Washing hands with liquid soap and water, and rubbing for at least 20 seconds, or using alcohol-based sanitizer if soap and water are not available; Covering your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing; Staying home if you are sick; and Regularly cleaning surfaces touched by many people. “The vast majority of those who contract COVID-19 exhibit mild symptoms,” Sisson said. “But, we are concerned for more vulnerable members of our community who are more at risk of severe illness.” In addition to those basic steps the public at large can take to prevent illness, Placer County Public Health recommends additional measures to prevent exposure among vulnerable people, including the elderly and those with underlying health conditions (such as diabetes, cancer, immunodeficiency, asthma, COPD and others). Public Health recommends that vulnerable people: Stay home as much as possible. Arrange for someone to deliver groceries and other items you need. Ensure you have at least a two-week supply of medication on hand. When staying home, healthy visitors are fine – but visitors who have fever, cough, or sore throat should be turned away. Encourage phone calls and video chats instead. Wash your hands regularly, especially before eating or before touching your face. If you need to leave the house, minimize contact with other people and with common surfaces. Stay at least six feet away from others. Avoid touching shared surfaces like door handles, or counters. Use clothing or a paper towel instead of bare hands to open doors, for example. Wash hands or use hand sanitizer after touching any shared surfaces or objects. Placer County Public Health will continue to reevaluate its recommendations and will issue new guidance as appropriate. Updates will be posted to www.placer.ca.gov/coronavirus.

The three new cases were from South and Mid Placer and all traveled on the Grand Princess cruise ship from San Francisco to Mexico Feb. 11-21. https://www.placer.ca.gov/6439/3-new-COVID-19-cases-all-with-ties-to-cr