Woman With Coronavirus Is Santa Clara County's Fourth Case
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- The Santa Clara County Public Health Department confirmed Saturday that a fourth case of coronavirus, COVID-19, has been identified in Santa Clara County.
The person infected was described as an adult woman who was in the same household as another adult female who was identified Friday as the third patient with the virus in the county.
Saturday's victim was ordered to home quarantine since she was not exhibiting any symptoms that required hospitalization.
Due to medical privacy requirements and to protect her identity, the health department said it will not release further information about the case.
ALSO READ:
- Coronavirus: Who's At Risk? Stanford Infectious Disease Expert Weighs In
- UC Davis Coronavirus Case Forces 124 Health Care Workers To Self Quarantine
- Game Developers Conference In San Francisco Postponed Due To Coronavirus
- Coronavirus Fears Impacting Shipping Business At Port Of Oakland
- Growing Concern Over Coronavirus May Be Impacting Corona Beer Sales
COMPLETE COVERAGE: CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
Dr. Sara Cody, the county's public health director, said the adult female diagnosed on Friday was not in known contact with any recently travelers or infected persons and did not recently travel herself.
"This case does signal to us that it's now time to shift how we respond to the novel coronavirus," Cody said. "The public health measures that we've taken so far -- isolation, quarantine, contact tracing and travel restrictions -- have helped to slow the spread of disease, and we will continue to implement them. We will continue to trace close contacts of our cases to try to limit the spread of the virus, but now we need to add other public health tools to the mix."
Dr. Jim Novak, chief business officer of the Santa Clara County Office of Education said parents, children and school personnel should continue to wash their hands and follow the guidelines of the public health department, which includes staying home from school if they feel sick.
"I know a lot of times we really want kids to come to school, but when they're not feeling well, they should stay home at that time -- even if they're feeling pressured to come to school for a test or something, if they're not feeling well, we encourage them to stay home at that time," Novak said. "At this point, we're not recommending schools close or anything like that, but we're monitoring the situation all the time."
Dr. Christopher Braden, deputy director at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, said the virus can remain on a surface for several days but is susceptible to most hygiene products like gel hand sanitizers.
The county on Feb. 10 declared a state of public health emergency, which mobilized further state and federal resources to aid stopping the virus's spread.
