niman Posted January 26, 2020 Report Posted January 26, 2020 2nd nCoV positive in California confirmed
niman Posted January 26, 2020 Author Report Posted January 26, 2020 In L.A. County, the infected person was a “returning traveler” from Wuhan who is “receiving medical treatment” at a local hospital, officials said. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-01-25/los-angeles-area-prepared-for-coronavirus
niman Posted January 26, 2020 Author Report Posted January 26, 2020 California’s first two cases of coronavirus are confirmed in L.A. and Orange counties A worker wearing protective gears sprays antiseptic inside a train in Seoul amid rising concerns about the coronavirus spread. (Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images) By ALEX WIGGLESWORTH, RONG-GONG LIN II, SONALI KOHLI JAN. 26, 2020 11:02 AM Health officials have confirmed the first cases of the new strain of coronavirus in Los Angeles and Orange counties, brought by travelers who came from the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan, China. In both counties, the virus infecting the two individuals was the same strain as the one that had spread to more than 2,000 people in 14 countries and territories and caused 56 deaths since it was discovered late last month in central China. Two other cases have been diagnosed in the U.S., one in Washington state and one in Chicago. In L.A. County, the infected person was a “returning traveler” from Wuhan who is “receiving medical treatment” at a local hospital, officials said. The Orange County patient is in good condition and is in isolation at a hospital, health officials said. In both counties, health authorities are following up with anyone who has had close contact with the patients, but they noted that casual contact with an infected person — such as visiting the same grocery store or movie theater — only carries “minimal risk of developing infection,” Orange County officials said. “The risk of local transmission remains low,” officials said. The new strain of coronavirus, known as 2019-nCoV, can cause respiratory illness and pneumonia. It was originally thought only to be spreading from animals to people in central China, but there are now indications it is also spreading among people. In people who are young and healthy, the virus does not seem to cause severe illness, with symptoms including fever, coughing and shortness of breath. Most of the dozens of deaths tied to the coronavirus to date have been in the central Chinese province of Hubei, of which Wuhan is the capital. Most of the dead were at least 50 years old with underlying medical problems or weakened immune systems, Chinese officials said. But a 36-year-old man succumbed to the coronavirus last week, and a healthcare worker also was reported to be among fatalities. China’s Wuhan Coronavirus Spreads To South Korea SCIENCE Should you panic about the coronavirus from China? Here’s what the experts say Jan. 24, 2020 Health experts in the United States have said there’s no evidence to suggest the new coronavirus is any more virulent than the flu. “We don’t have evidence yet to suggest this is any more virulent than the flu you see in the U.S. each year,” Michael Mina, an epidemiology researcher at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said last week. “Most people, with proper medical attention, will do just fine.” But because this strain of coronavirus is new, health officials are on high alert, and researchers will have to start from square one in creating a vaccine, which will probably take years to develop. Coronaviruses include a large variety of viruses — the common cold as well as those that caused the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). SARS and MERS sickened thousands of people around the world and caused hundreds of deaths. As of Friday, 18 people between the ages of 3 and 58 had been tested for the virus in California, according to the state Department of Public Health. They included a traveler who arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on a flight from Mexico City and was taken to a hospital early Thursday for an evaluation. Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a video statement last week that the immediate health risk to the general public in California is low, based on current information, but that the department is carefully monitoring the virus and considers it “a serious public health concern.” Besides the Orange County case, only two other people have tested positive for the virus in the United States — a man in Washington state and a woman in Illinois. Though the U.S. has not seen a major outbreak, the virus has spread widely across Asia in the last month, killing at least 56 people and sickening 2,000 more in China, according to officials there. China’s health minister said the country was entering a “crucial stage” as “it seems like the ability of the virus to spread is getting stronger.” The pneumonia-like illnesses from the newly identified coronavirus first appeared last month in Wuhan, an industrial and transportation hub in central China’s Hubei province. Other cases have been reported in Japan, South Korea and Thailand. Singapore, Vietnam and Hong Kong reported their first cases Thursday. The U.S. State Department announced Sunday morning that it will relocate personnel at the U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan to the U.S. via a single flight on Tuesday from Wuhan to San Francisco. There is limited space for private American citizens on the flight, officials said. “Capacity is extremely limited; priority will be given to individuals at greater risk from coronavirus,” the State Dept. said in a news statement. Chinese travel agencies have been told to halt all group tours, the state-owned English-language China Daily newspaper reported, citing the China Assn. of Travel Services. Canada reported its first case Saturday in Toronto, the AP reported. Officials said the man is in his 50s and recently flew from Wuhan to Guangzhou, China, and then on to Toronto on Jan. 23. The first coronavirus cases in Europe have also been confirmed, with three patients being treated in French hospitals. All three had recently traveled to China; they were reportedly doing well, according to officials. Last week, federal authorities announced that passengers flying from Wuhan into LAX, San Francisco International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York would be examined for the virus’ symptoms. Word of the new strain of coronavirus has affected California’s travel agencies at a time when they typically do a brisk business. “Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year, but no one is here to go back to China,” Albert Eng, owner of Chosen Travel in Monterey Park, said Saturday morning. “Usually we are very busy, but this year, no way.” He estimates business has been down about 95% since fears over the virus hit. He said that in years past, he’d have at least 40 clients taking trips to China during the week preceding the Lunar New Year. This week, he had five. “Right now, I ... think even if the tickets were free of charge, no one would take it,” he said. Times staff writers Emily Baumgaertner and Cindy Chang contributed to this report. The AP was used in compiling this report.
A worker wearing protective gears sprays antiseptic inside a train in Seoul amid rising concerns about the coronavirus spread. (Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images) By ALEX WIGGLESWORTH, RONG-GONG LIN II, SONALI KOHLI JAN. 26, 2020 11:02 AM Health officials have confirmed the first cases of the new strain of coronavirus in Los Angeles and Orange counties, brought by travelers who came from the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan, China. In both counties, the virus infecting the two individuals was the same strain as the one that had spread to more than 2,000 people in 14 countries and territories and caused 56 deaths since it was discovered late last month in central China. Two other cases have been diagnosed in the U.S., one in Washington state and one in Chicago. In L.A. County, the infected person was a “returning traveler” from Wuhan who is “receiving medical treatment” at a local hospital, officials said. The Orange County patient is in good condition and is in isolation at a hospital, health officials said. In both counties, health authorities are following up with anyone who has had close contact with the patients, but they noted that casual contact with an infected person — such as visiting the same grocery store or movie theater — only carries “minimal risk of developing infection,” Orange County officials said. “The risk of local transmission remains low,” officials said. The new strain of coronavirus, known as 2019-nCoV, can cause respiratory illness and pneumonia. It was originally thought only to be spreading from animals to people in central China, but there are now indications it is also spreading among people. In people who are young and healthy, the virus does not seem to cause severe illness, with symptoms including fever, coughing and shortness of breath. Most of the dozens of deaths tied to the coronavirus to date have been in the central Chinese province of Hubei, of which Wuhan is the capital. Most of the dead were at least 50 years old with underlying medical problems or weakened immune systems, Chinese officials said. But a 36-year-old man succumbed to the coronavirus last week, and a healthcare worker also was reported to be among fatalities. China’s Wuhan Coronavirus Spreads To South Korea SCIENCE Should you panic about the coronavirus from China? Here’s what the experts say Jan. 24, 2020 Health experts in the United States have said there’s no evidence to suggest the new coronavirus is any more virulent than the flu. “We don’t have evidence yet to suggest this is any more virulent than the flu you see in the U.S. each year,” Michael Mina, an epidemiology researcher at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said last week. “Most people, with proper medical attention, will do just fine.” But because this strain of coronavirus is new, health officials are on high alert, and researchers will have to start from square one in creating a vaccine, which will probably take years to develop. Coronaviruses include a large variety of viruses — the common cold as well as those that caused the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). SARS and MERS sickened thousands of people around the world and caused hundreds of deaths. As of Friday, 18 people between the ages of 3 and 58 had been tested for the virus in California, according to the state Department of Public Health. They included a traveler who arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on a flight from Mexico City and was taken to a hospital early Thursday for an evaluation. Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a video statement last week that the immediate health risk to the general public in California is low, based on current information, but that the department is carefully monitoring the virus and considers it “a serious public health concern.” Besides the Orange County case, only two other people have tested positive for the virus in the United States — a man in Washington state and a woman in Illinois. Though the U.S. has not seen a major outbreak, the virus has spread widely across Asia in the last month, killing at least 56 people and sickening 2,000 more in China, according to officials there. China’s health minister said the country was entering a “crucial stage” as “it seems like the ability of the virus to spread is getting stronger.” The pneumonia-like illnesses from the newly identified coronavirus first appeared last month in Wuhan, an industrial and transportation hub in central China’s Hubei province. Other cases have been reported in Japan, South Korea and Thailand. Singapore, Vietnam and Hong Kong reported their first cases Thursday. The U.S. State Department announced Sunday morning that it will relocate personnel at the U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan to the U.S. via a single flight on Tuesday from Wuhan to San Francisco. There is limited space for private American citizens on the flight, officials said. “Capacity is extremely limited; priority will be given to individuals at greater risk from coronavirus,” the State Dept. said in a news statement. Chinese travel agencies have been told to halt all group tours, the state-owned English-language China Daily newspaper reported, citing the China Assn. of Travel Services. Canada reported its first case Saturday in Toronto, the AP reported. Officials said the man is in his 50s and recently flew from Wuhan to Guangzhou, China, and then on to Toronto on Jan. 23. The first coronavirus cases in Europe have also been confirmed, with three patients being treated in French hospitals. All three had recently traveled to China; they were reportedly doing well, according to officials. Last week, federal authorities announced that passengers flying from Wuhan into LAX, San Francisco International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York would be examined for the virus’ symptoms. Word of the new strain of coronavirus has affected California’s travel agencies at a time when they typically do a brisk business. “Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year, but no one is here to go back to China,” Albert Eng, owner of Chosen Travel in Monterey Park, said Saturday morning. “Usually we are very busy, but this year, no way.” He estimates business has been down about 95% since fears over the virus hit. He said that in years past, he’d have at least 40 clients taking trips to China during the week preceding the Lunar New Year. This week, he had five. “Right now, I ... think even if the tickets were free of charge, no one would take it,” he said. Times staff writers Emily Baumgaertner and Cindy Chang contributed to this report. The AP was used in compiling this report.
niman Posted January 27, 2020 Author Report Posted January 27, 2020 CDC confirms additional cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus in United States Media Statement For Immediate Release: Sunday, January 26, 2020Contact: Media Relations (404) 639-3286 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed additional travel-related infections of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the United States, this time in Arizona and California. These patients recently returned to the U.S. from Wuhan, China, where an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus has been ongoing since December 2019. This brings the total number of 2019-nCoV infections detected in the United States to five. Based on the patient’s travel history and symptoms, healthcare professionals suspected 2019-nCoV. Clinical specimens were collected and sent to CDC, where laboratory testing confirmed infection with 2019-nCoV. Investigations are underway to determine where these patients went after returning to the United States and any close contacts who were possibly exposed. CDC teams have been deployed to support these efforts. This is a rapidly evolving situation, and we are still in the early days of the investigation – both domestically and abroad. CDC continues to monitor the international situation with our teams on the ground in affected countries, as well as domestically in the four states with confirmed cases – Arizona, California, Illinois, and Washington. CDC is leaning forward with an aggressive public health response strategy and working closely with state and local public health authorities to identify potential cases early and make sure patients get the best and most appropriate care. It is likely there will be more cases reported in the U.S. in the coming days and weeks, likely including person-to-person spread. In previous outbreaks with MERS and SARS, the two other coronaviruses that have jumped the species barrier to cause severe illness in people, person-to-person spread has been seen, including among healthcare workers caring for patients ill with coronavirus infection. This underscores the importance of appropriate precautions in the health care setting as well in homes of people who are infected with 2019-nCoV but who may not be hospitalized. CDC has developed guidance for both situations. This is a very serious public health situation. We understand that some people are worried about this virus and how it may impact Americans. Outbreaks of new diseases are always of concern – and in today’s connected world, an outbreak anywhere can be a risk everywhere. Risk is dependent on exposure. Someone who is in close contact with a person who is infected with 2019-nCoV will be at greater risk of infection and should take the precautions outlined in CDC’s guidance for preventing spread in homes and communities. While this is a serious public health threat, CDC continues to believe the immediate risk to the U.S. general public is low at this time. Right now, CDC recommends travelers avoid all nonessential travel to Hubei Province, China. In addition, CDC recommends people traveling to other parts of China practice certain health precautions like avoiding contact with people who are sick and practicing good hand hygiene. For the general public, no additional precautions are recommended at this time beyond the simple daily precautions that everyone should always take. It is currently flu and respiratory disease season, and flu activity is still high and expected to continue for a number of weeks. CDC recommends getting a flu vaccine, taking everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs, and taking flu antivirals if prescribed. As we learn more about this novel coronavirus, we will continue to update our guidance. Please visit the CDC website, which is updated daily, for the latest information related to our response.
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