Testing continues at LAX after coronavirus screener contracts virus

After a worker at Los Angeles International Airport became ill and later tested positive for the coronavirus, officials have tested other workers, according to a source familiar with the case.

So far, officials said no LAX passengers or other workers have tested positive for COVID-19, which has infected more than 50 people in California.

The worker was confirmed as having the virus Tuesday and so far has a mild case and has been isolated, the sources said. Family members of the person also have been tested.

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security described the worker as a medical screener who “wore all the correct protective equipment and took necessary protections on the job.”

“As soon as the individual began to feel sick, they self-quarantined, saw a physician, and reported to the appropriate authorities and officials,” a DHS spokesperson said in the statement.

The person is one of seven confirmed cases of coronavirus in Los Angeles County, which on Wednesday declared a local emergency amid the outbreak, hours before the entire state of California issued a similar order.

None of the new cases are believed to be “community spread,” officials said. All individuals were exposed to COVID-19 through close contact with others who were infected.