CDC Announces 1st US Case Of Wuhan Coronavirus In Washington State
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced the first case of Wuhan Coronavirus in the United States, amid a rising number of cases and increased screenings for passengers arriving at San Francisco International Airport.
The case was reported in Washington state. The CDC said the patient is a man in his 30s who lives north of Seattle and is now in a hospital in Everett, Washington.
The man returned to the Seattle area in the middle of last week after traveling to Wuhan in central China, where the outbreak began. The Snohomish County resident is in his 30s and was listed in good condition Tuesday.
Officials are seeking healthcare workers or people who may have come in contact with him. The man has been isolated from the public and the CDC says the risk to the public is low.
First identified last month in Wuhan, China, the novel virus has infected at least 440 people and has killed nine people in China as of Monday evening.
It is unclear if the person recently traveled to China, where and how they were infected or if the virus was transmitted to anyone else in the U.S.
The outbreak has prompted all passengers arriving from Wuhan to face additional screening at SFO, along with Los Angeles International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. About 150 passengers arrive on direct flights from Wuhan every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday into San Francisco.
The CDC said it was deploying about 100 additional staff to the three airports to supplement existing staff at the quarantine stations located at those airports.
