5 Evacuated Americans Hospitalized With Coronavirus Symptoms; CDC Begins Shipping Tests To Local Health Officials
There has not been confirmation yet that the five Americans evacuated from China have coronavirus as many other illnesses present with similar symptoms. But doctors in California, where the evacuees landed, say they'll treat the patients under special protocols laid out by the CDC. Meanwhile, local and state health departments will be able to do their own testing for the virus rather than sending it to the CDC. “Our goal is early detection of new cases and to prevent further spread of the coronavirus,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield.
Los Angeles Times:
Five Hospitalized As Coronavirus Quarantine Begins In San Diego
Shortly after touching down in San Diego, four of 167 passengers on a quarantine flight that landed Wednesday morning at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar were transported to local hospitals after showing symptoms of coronavirus infection, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement Wednesday night. By Thursday evening, a fifth person had been hospitalized. (Sisson, 2/6)
CBS News:
Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 600 As Number Of Cases Passes 31,000 And More Evacuees Head To U.S.
The number of cases in the U.S. rose to 12 on Wednesday, with officials in Wisconsin confirming the state's first case. There are also cases in California, Arizona, Massachusetts, Washington and Illinois. (2/7)
The Associated Press:
Officials: Texas, Nebraska Arrivals Shouldn't Be Ill
Hundreds of Americans being evacuated from China over a viral outbreak will be quarantined in Texas and Nebraska, officials said Thursday, stressing that it was unlikely that anyone will arrive there with signs of illness. Officials said about 70 Americans will be flown into Omaha and quarantined at a nearby Nebraska National Guard training base. In Texas, Lackland Air For Base in San Antonio was preparing to quarantine as many as 250 people who could arrive as soon as Friday, said Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control's division of high consequence pathogens and pathology. (Funk, 2/6)
The Hill:
CDC Begins Shipping Coronavirus Tests To State And Local Health Departments
Coronavirus tests developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shipped Wednesday to U.S. and international laboratories, including those at state and local public health departments. Health providers and health departments previously sent samples for testing to the CDC in Atlanta, Ga. (Hellmann, 2/6)
The Washington Post:
Americans Quarantined For Coronavirus On Military Bases Share Experiences
Jarred Evans has explored every inch of the Air Force barracks where he has lived under federal quarantine for the past eight days. He has measured out its exact length: 0.45 miles. He has run through every stairwell, hallway and parking lot row hundreds of times, trying to keep in shape and stay sane. “It’s all in the mind. You have to stay mentally strong,” said Evans, 27, who was playing American football professionally in Wuhan, China, before he became one of 195 evacuees now living at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, Calif. (Wan, Sun and Satija, 2/6)
WBUR:
Life In Quarantine: What It's Like For The U.S. Evacuees From Wuhan
Under this 14-day quarantine, the passengers don't have to wear masks, although they can if they choose, according to Chris Braden, deputy director for the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are asked to keep a distance from other people — about six feet, he adds.Now that they're in their quarters, there are getting symptom and temperature checks twice each day, Braden says. (Stein and Renken, 2/6)
WBUR:
Gown, Mask, Face Shield, Gloves: Preparing For Coronavirus At A Boston Hospital
At Tufts Medical Center in Boston's Chinatown neighborhood, a dozen staffers are getting a brief lesson on PPE — that's personal protective equipment — against the new coronavirus. Trainer Janice McLaughlin has her students get gowned up first, cautioning them to make sure the gowns are on properly. (Goldberg, 2/7)
The Star Tribune:
Could U.S. Have Moved Faster On Coronavirus Response?
As the world grapples to contain a troubling new strain of the coronavirus, an early criticism of the U.S. response has come from an influential critic: Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration.Gottlieb is alarmed that this country’s capacity to test for the pathogen is lagging as the outbreak spreads from China to 27 other countries. It is imperative that Congress and the Trump administration act on his concerns to ensure the nation has the readiness and resources to contain this new public health threat.In a long Twitter thread posted Sunday, Gottlieb said swifter, broader screening is needed nationally to detect coronavirus, which has sickened more than 28,000 people in China. (2/6)
KQED:
SF Public Health Officials, Chinese-Language Media Try To Ease Coronavirus Fears
Public health officials say people in the Bay Area run a low risk of falling ill from the novel coronavirus. Fewer than five people in the nine-county region are being treated for the flu-like disease. The San Francisco Department of Public Health is working to spread that message to Cantonese and Mandarin speakers. (Arcuni, 2/6)
KQED:
Coronavirus Fears Won't Stop SF Lunar New Year Festivities
Some U.S. cities have canceled their Chinese New Year celebrations this year, owing to safety concerns with the spread of the new coronavirus beyond China. But in San Francisco, host to one of the oldest and largest Lunar New Year festivals and parades in the country, things are going ahead as planned. (Veltman, 2/6)
