No. of U.S. coronavirus cases of unknown origin rises to 4

U.S. public health officials said they have recognized four “presumptive” coronavirus cases thought to have emerged from community transmission of the infection, signaling a turning point in efforts to support the disease in america.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a statement on Friday citing three such cases newly diagnosed by state public health authorities - one each in California, Oregon and Washington State.

If confirmed by the CDC, as well as a previous case of unknown origin announced on Wednesday in California, that would bring to four the number of diagnosed individuals in the usa with no history of travel to a country where the virus is circulating no close connection with an infected person.

The three latest patients were diagnosed predicated on results obtained within their respective states from CDC-supplied test kits and are considered “presumptive positive” cases pending CDC confirmatory testing, the U.S. agency said.

A fourth presumptive positive was also announced in Washington State on Friday, but that one is “likely travel-related,” the CDC said.

Still, the three latest cases of apparent community transmission, in addition to the one identified earlier the other day in California, certainly are a sign the virus is currently spreading within at least four separate locations up and down the U.S. West Coast.

They span practically 900 miles from California’s Silicon Valley region in Santa Clara County north to the Puget Sound near Seattle.

“What we know now could be that the virus is here now, present at some level, but we still don’t know to what degree,” said Dr. Sara Cody, the chief public health officer for Santa Clara County, talking about the newly diagnosed case there, the most recent of three in her county and the 10th statewide.

Even as confirmation was pending there, the CDC sent a team to aid local authorities in tracing close contacts the individual had with others in a bid to curb transmission.

Until the other day, the CDC had counted 15 confirmed cases in six states as having been detected through the U.S. public health system since Jan. 21, none fatal. Most were contracted by individuals whilst travelling in China, where the outbreak originated. Only two person-to-person transmissions were documented included in this, both between married couples.

An additional 47 cases have already been confirmed among persons recently repatriated from abroad, either from the Diamond Princess cruise liner quarantined in Japan or from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, in line with the CDC.

The latest flurry of cases came as the Trump administration said america would invoke a federal defense law to improve production of masks, gloves, gowns and other items needed to protect medical personnel from exposure.

President Donald Trump said at the White House on Friday the United States will decide “very soon” about whether to bar entry to travelers from countries apart from China where community transmission has emerged.

At a rally in SC on Friday night, Trump defended his administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak and accused Democrats of politicizing the condition.

“That is their new hoax,” Trump said at the event, held a day before the state’s Democratic presidential primary.

The U.S. STATE DEPT. has issued travel advisories for several nations and on Friday it said Americans should reconsider happen to be Italy, where practically 900 coronavirus cases have already been confirmed. A similar warning was issued earlier the other day for South Korea, which includes hundreds of infections.

Latest figures from China, where in fact the outbreak started late this past year, indicated that practically 80,000 people have already been infected, with an increase of than 2,800 deaths. The World Health Organization reported 57 deaths in 46 other countries.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a closed-door briefing in the U.S. House of Representatives that sustained spread of the coronavirus meant there would be many more infections in the usa, according to a source.

Fauci warned lawmakers the united states lacked enough testing resources, the source said on condition of anonymity. The CDC said it has revised its requirements for who ought to be tested and is ramping up testing capabilities.