Cases of the coronavirus have begun to mount in the United States and are expected to continue to grow in the coming weeks as the virus spreads and testing increases.
“We are facing a historic public health challenge,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “We will continue to respond to COVID-19 in an aggressive way to contain and blunt the threat of this virus. While we still hope for the best, we continue to prepare for this virus to become widespread in the United States.”
In California, more than 50 cases have been reported, including one death that was announced on Wednesday. About half the cases have been people who caught the virus either on the Diamond Princess cruise ship or in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak was first reported, and were then repatriated to the U.S. and quarantined at California military bases. The other half were returning travelers or, in at least five instances, people who contracted the virus in their communities.
Here is a geographical rundown of the California cases:
Alameda County
Two cases have been reported so far. The first was a healthcare worker at NorthBay VacaValley Hospital whose diagnosis was announced Sunday. The worker came into contact with a Solano County woman who was treated at the hospital before she was transferred to UC Davis Medical Center and diagnosed with COVID-19. The healthcare worker was isolated at home.
The second case, involving a person in Berkeley who visited a country experiencing an outbreak, was reported Tuesday. That individual has remained at home in a self-imposed quarantine since returning.
The county has declared a local emergency.
Humboldt County
Authorities announced Feb. 19 that a Humboldt County resident who had recently traveled to China had been diagnosed with the coronavirus. The patient self-isolated at home and has since been cleared and released, officials said.
Los Angeles
There have been seven confirmed cases. The first was a Wuhan resident who was flying through L.A. on Jan. 22 on his way back to China and sought care at Los Angeles International Airport, health officials announced Jan. 26.
The patient was taken directly to a hospital, was quarantined for 14 days and has been released, said L.A. County public health director Barbara Ferrer. More than 50 people who came into contact with the patient, many of whom were health workers, were identified as at risk and asked to limit contact with others, Ferrer said.
Health officials on Wednesday confirmed six additional patients, all of whom they said were exposed to the virus through close contact with others who were infected.
Half of the new cases were travelers who had visited northern Italy, two were family members who had close contact with a person outside of the county who was infected, and the other had a job that put them in contact with travelers, officials said.
L.A. county and city officials declared a state of emergency Wednesday in response to the growing case counts.
Orange County
There have been three confirmed cases in Orange County. Public health officials announced Jan. 25 that a returning traveler from Wuhan had tested positive for the virus. The patient was isolated in a hospital and has since recovered, officials said.
Officials confirmed two additional cases Tuesday: One was a man in his 60s and the other a woman in her 30s. Both had visited countries with widespread transmission, officials said.
On Feb. 26, the county declared a local health emergency in response to the coronavirus.
The move was largely in response to a proposal to move coronavirus patients to a facility in Costa Mesa, which sparked a bitter court battle. The federal government has since retreated from the plan.
Placer County
An elderly adult who had tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a cruise became the first person to die from the virus in California, Placer County Public Health officials announced Wednesday.
That individual, who officials said had underlying health conditions, was the county’s second confirmed coronavirus patient and had been placed in isolation at Kaiser Permanente Roseville.
Officials said the patient who died was probably exposed during a trip on a Princess Cruises ship that departed Feb. 10 from San Francisco and sailed to Mexico, returning Feb. 21.
A healthcare worker in Placer County was previously confirmed as a presumptive case, pending confirmation from the CDC.
The individual, now in isolation at home, is a NorthBay VacaValley Hospital worker who came into close contact with a previously confirmed case in Solano County, before that individual was transferred to another hospital and tested for the virus.
Sacramento County
A Sacramento County resident who returned to the U.S. from China on Feb. 2 was found to have the virus, officials announced Feb. 21.
The person took precautionary measures during travel and was asymptomatic but had self-quarantined since returning, according to the county public health department.
San Benito County
Two cases have been reported in San Benito County, both on Feb. 2. A man, 57, who had recently returned from Wuhan became ill and passed the virus on to his wife, also 57. Officials said the couple had not left their home since the husband returned from China. They were not hospitalized and were isolated in their home.
San Diego County
Two cases have been reported in San Diego County, both of them among people who were evacuated from Wuhan and flown to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar to be quarantined.
Authorities announced the first case on Feb. 10 and the second two days later. Both patients were hospitalized at San Diego Health System shortly after arriving at the base, officials said.
The first patient was mistakenly discharged from the hospital Feb. 9 and sent back to the base after a mix-up with the test results, but was returned to the hospital the following day for care.
Both patients have since recovered and been released.
County public health officials declared a local emergency on Feb. 14 in response to the virus.
Santa Clara County
Of the 11 cases in the county, at least four were linked to travel. Five of those infected contracted the disease within the Santa Clara region while the origin of two cases is under investigation.
Authorities announced the first on Jan. 31, a Santa Clara County man who fell ill after his Jan. 24 return from China. Officials said the man had self-isolated at his home, leaving twice to seek medical care.
Three more cases associated with travel have been reported in the county. Over the weekend, officials announced that a husband and wife who had recently visited Egypt were hospitalized with COVID-19.
A bigger concern, officials say, is an older adult woman who was infected but had no known exposure through travel or contact with another infected person. The woman had been hospitalized for a respiratory illness.
The most recent two cases, announced Tuesday, prompted county officials to warn people over 50 and with medical conditions to avoid large gatherings, such as sporting events and concerts.
San Mateo County
Officials recently reported their first positive case of the virus. The source of exposure is unknown, as the person has no known exposure to the virus through travel or contact with another infected person.
Solano County
Most of the cases in Solano County are associated with evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, where passengers were quarantined off Japan after some of those who had boarded tested positive for the coronavirus.
Some of the evacuees were taken to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield. Of those who arrived there, 21 tested positive, the CDC said Wednesday. Some of them were then transferred to hospitals outside the county.
Solano County is also where the first confirmed case of community spread in the U.S. was reported.
An older woman who was hospitalized at NorthBay VacaValley Hospital with fever and breathing problems was transferred to UC Davis Medical Center, where she was eventually diagnosed with COVID-19, officials announced Wednesday. She was “in her community” for several days before accessing care, officials said.
The woman had not recently traveled to a high-risk area, nor had she been in contact with someone with the virus. She was not tested for several days after her initial hospitalization because she did not fit screening criteria set by the CDC at the time. The guidelines have since been revised.
More than 100 people, most of whom were health workers who had contact with the woman, have been asked to self-quarantine. On Sunday, officials announced that one of them, a worker at NorthBay VacaValley Hospital, was also diagnosed with coronavirus and was in in isolation at home.
The CDC has dispatched a team to help local officials identify others who may have come in contact with the woman, who is reported to be slowly recovering. So far, her family members have tested negative for the virus but remain in quarantine, officials said.
On Thursday, the county declared a local emergency due to the virus.
Sonoma County
Officials in Sonoma County declared a local health emergency Monday after announcing two people had been diagnosed with the virus.
One patient, who officials said earlier this week was isolated and in stable condition, had recently traveled internationally on a cruise unrelated to the Diamond Princess cruise.
