Health officials in Orange County on Saturday confirmed a case of the Wuhan coronavirus, marking the third known case in the United States.
The patient recently traveled from Wuhan, China, where the outbreak is believed to have originated, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. The person has been in contact with the agency and “was provided guidance in order to reduce exposure to the public while awaiting laboratory confirmation,” the OCHCA said in a written statement.
Now that the diagnosis has been confirmed, “the individual has now been transported to a local hospital and is in isolation in good condition,” the statement said.
County health officials were contacting up with those who have had close contact with the patient, putting them at risk of infection.
“The HCA will be monitoring any close contacts and assure that proper evaluation and care is provided if they become ill,” according to the statement.
Federal guidelines indicate casual contact with an infected person, such as being in the same movie theater or grocery store, provided minimal risk of infection, officials said.
“There is no evidence that person-to-person transmission has occurred in Orange County,” according to the OCHCA statement. “The current risk of local transmission remains low.”
No further details regarding the case in Orange County were released Saturday.
Two additional Wuhan coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Chicago and Everett, Washington.
In China, 1,975 infections have been reported, resulting in 56 deaths.
Five cases have also been reported in Hong Kong, two in Macao and three in Taiwan. Small numbers of cases have been found in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the U.S., Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Nepal, France, Canada and Australia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
