A flight attendant from South Korea who tested positive for COVID-19 after visiting Los Angeles County earlier this month had yet to develop any symptoms during her time in California and posed no threat of transmitting the illness to others, health officials announced Friday.
The flight attendant was believed to have serviced flights to Los Angeles International Airport on Feb. 19 and 20, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The patient, described by officials as an “older woman with chronic health conditions,” was subsequently diagnosed with the virus in South Korea.
The attendant “was not symptomatic during their time in LA County and did not pose any risk to others while in LA County,” the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a written statement. “The CDC confirmed the flight attendant did not develop symptoms until after departing LA County.”
Only one case of the novel coronavirus has been reported in Los Angeles County. In that case, the patient had recently traveled to Wuhan, China, where the virus is believed to have originated.
“At this time, there are no new cases of COVID-19 in LA County, and there is currently no evidence of person-to-person spread of the virus within LA County,” according to the statement. “Therefore, the immediate health risk to the general public of exposure to this virus in Los Angeles County is still considered low.”
More than five dozen cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the U.S. — 44 of them patients who were repatriated after quarantine on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan and three repatriated from China, according to the CDC.
A case in Santa Clara county reported Friday was the 10th in California and believed to be the 2nd known case of unknown origin. In both cases, the patients were not known to have traveled to China or be in close contact with anyone who had, officials said. Another case of unknown origin was reported earlier this week in Solano County.