MINNEAPOLIS (BLOOMBERG) - A second person in California has been diagnosed with the coronavirus despite a lack of known ties to other infected patients or areas, a further sign that the disease is likely spreading in some parts of the US.
The female patient "had no known exposure to the virus through travel or close contact with a known infected individual," the Santa Clara County Public Health Department said in a statement Friday (Feb 28).
The woman was hospitalised with a respiratory illness and local investigators conducted the test to diagnose the virus. Health officials are tracking down anyone the woman might have met and infected. She is older and has chronic health conditions, said the health department.
"This new case indicates that there is evidence of community transmission but the extent is still not clear," said Sara Cody, head of the county's public health department. "This is what we have been preparing for. Now we need to start taking additional actions to slow down the spread of the disease."
Santa Clara Country encompasses San Jose and Palo Alto. A previous coronavirus case without ties to another infected traveller was reported by the state on Wednesday in Solano County, east of the bay area.
Health officials around the US have said they expect more cases and that the coronavirus is likely in wider circulation than the handful of diagnosed cases would indicate. State and local health departments, which are the front lines of detection, have struggled to get test kits from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention working properly.
Without working kits, it's been difficult or impossible for them to screen cases broadly.
The Santa Clara County patient was diagnosed with a locally administered test developed by the CDC. Some local labs have complained that the test kits sent to them aren't accurate, and the CDC limits categories of patients it says should be tested. In a statement, the CDC said the new patient was being considered a "presumptive positive case" and it will conduct confirmatory testing.
