Coronavirus 2020 Outbreak: Latest Updates

In the U.S., the CDC is reporting five confirmed cases from these states: Washington, Illinois, California and Arizona. On Monday, Jan. 27, Nancy Messonnier, MD, Director of the agency's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said it had 165 persons under investigation for coronavirus from 36 states. In addition to the 5 confirmed positive, 68 have tested negative. They are prioritizing the testing based on a person’s risk.

Messonnier said they had posted the blueprints for their diagnostic test on a public server and were working "as fast as we can" to get test kits out to states.

Right now, all the testing for the new coronavirus is taking place at the CDC's headquarters in Atlanta.

She said the CDC was mulling a change to its travel screening for the infection, but did not give further details.

According to European CDC, the majority of the confirmed cases – 5,994 – are in China. Another 78 cases are confirmed outside of China in 16 countries. Countries with the most confirmed cases include Thailand with 14 and Taiwan and South Korea with 8 each. All reported deaths have been in China, and include 16 healthcare workers.

When did the outbreak start?

What are public officials doing to contain the virus?

Chinese officials have shut down all public transportation to 10 cities, affecting 35 million people. The first was Wuhan, which has a population of about 11 million. In Wuhan, that includes buses, subways, trains, and the airport.

All passengers flying into the United States from Wuhan will be routed through one of five airports and screened for fever and other signs of the virus. “Patients of concern�� will be referred to a facility and given a test to find out if they have the virus.

What do we know about cases in the United States?

California has two patients, one in Los Angeles County and one in Orange County. The patient from Orange County is a man in his 50s. He is in a local hospital in isolation and is in good condition, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. Los Angeles County officials did not provide additional details about the patient there.

Arizona's Department of Health Services said its patient is a Maricopa County resident and member of the Arizona State University community who did not live in student housing. The patient is not severely ill and is being kept in isolation.

Another case involves a woman in her 60s from Chicago. The Chicago Department of Public Health reported that she had visited Wuhan, China in December and returned to Chicago earlier this month. She is hospitalized in stable condition.

The first U.S. patient is a man in his 30s from Washington state. He had traveled from Wuhan and entered the country before the screening was in place. He started having symptoms and contacted his doctor. He is in good condition and is in isolation at Providence Regional Medical Center.

Is travel to China safe?

Wuhan is closed to travelers.

The CDC is advising that travelers avoid non-essential travel to China. Travelers who do go should:

Avoid contact with sick people.
Avoid animals, animal markets, and products that come from animals.
Wash their hands often with soap and water, or use an alcohol-based sanitizer if that’s not available.
Seek medical care right away for a fever, cough, or difficulty breathing. Tell a health care professional about any travel.

What are the symptoms, and how is the virus diagnosed?

China created a test for the virus and shared that information with other countries. The CDC has developed its own test.

Symptoms include a fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. They may appear 2 to 14 days after you’re exposed to the virus.

What is the source of the virus, and how is it spread?

Health officials are not sure of the source of the virus yet or how easily it can spread. Coronaviruses are found in many different animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. One research paper also suggested snakes as a possible source. The new virus may be linked to a seafood and live animal market in Wuhan that has since been closed

The virus can spread from person to person. Health officials are seeing this happen most often where people are close together and in health care settings. To date, 16 health care workers have been infected.

The CDC believes that severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), two other types of coronavirus, are spread through droplets when someone coughs or sneezes.

Reports I was seeing say it could be as long as 14 days to become symptomatic and as early as 2 days to become contagious. That is why it’s so readily spreading.

So far, we’ve seen 1 report of 1 person who was infected becoming completely virus free.

This thing has potential to be very bad.

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