There are 15 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States. The virus was most recently confirmed in evacuees from Wuhan, China, where the outbreak originated.
There are more US citizens traveling abroad who’ve been infected with coronavirus, including at least 24 Americans on a cruise ship in Japan.
The World Health Organization and the United States have declared the outbreak a public health emergency, but US officials have urged residents not to panic.
The novel coronavirus, which has sickened thousands and killed more than 1,300 people in China, belongs to a large family of viruses that mostly sicken animals. But this coronavirus, like SARS and MERS, “jumped the species barrier” to infect people on a large scale, the CDC said.
Here’s what we know about the cases in the US:
Texas: 1
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the 15th case of coronavirus on Thursday .
The patient has been under the 14-day federal quarantine since arriving at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas with other evacuees from China on February 7, the CDC said. The patient is now receiving medical care at a nearby hospital, the CDC said.
California: 8
California has more than half of confirmed cases of the virus in the country at eight.
San Diego County
An evacuee at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar was the 14th confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in the United States, the CDC said Wednesday.
The patient is among a group that was under a federal quarantine order after arriving at the base on a State Department-chartered flight on February 7, the CDC said. The patient was being treated at UC San Diego Health, the CDC said.
The virus was confirmed Monday in another patient who had arrived earlier at the Miramar base from Wuhan. The patient, who was being cared for at UC San Diego Health, is doing well with minimal symptoms, hospital officials said.
San Benito County
The confirmed cases are in a husband and wife, both 57, according to San Benito County Public Health Services
The husband had recently traveled from Wuhan, China. His wife hadn’t – another case of person-to-person transmission.
The couple had stayed at home since the man’s return from China, according to Dr. Martin Fenstersheib, the county’s interim public health officer. But on February 3, the couple was transported from San Benito County to an undisclosed hospital in San Francisco, said Rachael Kagan, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
Santa Clara County
The ninth confirmed case in the country was identified February 2 as an adult woman who recently traveled to Wuhan, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department in California said.
The patient is a visitor in Santa Clara County, health officials said, and arrived on January 23 to visit family. She has remained at home ever since, except to seek medical care twice. “She has been regularly monitored and was never sick enough to be hospitalized,” the statement said.
Health officials in Santa Clara County on January 31 said a man became infected in China. Upon returning to Northern California on January 24, the man self-isolated and did not leave home, except to seek medical care. He was not sick enough to be hospitalized.
Los Angeles County
Details are sparse about a confirmed Los Angeles County patient, which was announced on January 26 by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The patient is being treated at a local hospital, though the health department didn’t disclose how long the person sought treatment after exposure to the virus.
The patient is a returning traveler from Wuhan, China, the department said.
Orange County
An Orange County man in his 50s flew into Los Angeles International Airport from Wuhan earlier this month. The county found out January 23, and the CDC confirmed his results that month. He’s in a local hospital.
