New California Coronavirus Case May Be First In U.S. Without A Link To Travel Abroad

The New York Times: C.D.C. Confirms Possible Community Transmission Case
A person in California who was not exposed to anyone known to be infected with the coronavirus, and had not traveled to countries in which the virus is circulating, has tested positive for the infection. It may be the first case of community spread in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. “At this point, the patient’s exposure is unknown,” the C.D.C. statement said. “The case was detected through the U.S. public health system and picked up by astute clinicians.” (Rabin, 2/26)

The Associated Press: New US Coronavirus Case May Be 1st From Unknown Origin
California officials said the person is a resident of Solano County, northeast of San Francisco, and is getting medical care in Sacramento County. They said they have begun the process of tracking down people who the patient has been in contact with, a process known as contact tracing. The patient was brought to UC Davis Medical Center from another Northern California hospital on Feb. 19 but it was four days before the CDC heeded a request to test the patient for COVID-19, according to an email sent to employees Wednesday by the hospital’s interim CEO, Brad Simmons, and David Lubarsky, CEO of UC Davis Health. (Jablon and Stobbe, 2/26)

Los Angeles Times: California Coronavirus Case Could Be First Spread Within U.S. Community, CDC Says
The staff at UC Davis requested COVID-19 testing by the CDC, but because the patient didn’t fit the CDC’s existing criteria for the virus, a test wasn’t immediately administered, according to the email. The CDC then ordered the test Sunday, and results were announced Wednesday. Hospital administrators reportedly said in the email that despite these issues, there has been minimal exposure at the hospital because of safety protocols they have in place. (Karlamangla and Cosgrove, 2/26)

Politico: California Coronavirus Patient Hospitalized At Least A Week Before Diagnosis
California health officials stressed that the health risk to the general public is still low and that COVID-19 has a low mortality rate despite spreading quickly. There have been no deaths in the U.S. "We have been anticipating the potential for such a case in the U.S., and given our close familial, social and business relationships with China, it is not unexpected that the first case in the U.S. would be in California," said Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health and state public health officer. (Colliver, 2/26)

The Washington Post: First Person In U.S. Tests Positive For Coronavirus With No Known Link To Foreign Travel
Community spread would represent a significant turn for the worse in the battle against the virus. To date, the United States has 60 known cases of the infection, with 59 among people who traveled to Asia or were close contacts of people who went there. The vast majority, 42, picked up the virus while quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan. (Bernstein, McGinley and Sun, 2/27)

CNN: A California Coronavirus Patient Hospitalized A Week Ago Wasn't Initially Tested 
Hospitals receiving patients with flu-like symptoms have been asking people to detail their travel history or exposure to anyone who has recently traveled, Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips, the chief clinical officer and executive vice president of Providence St. Joseph Health, told CNN's Don Lemon. "Now we're going to have to be thinking, how do we change that strategy? Who all do we need to be testing for coronavirus? Right now, during flu season, that would be a lot of people and so we need to figure out how we can scale up the testing and the screening," she said. Providence St. Joseph Health operates 51 hospitals and more than 1,000 clinics across the country. (Moon and Maxouris, 2/27)

KQED: CDC Confirms New Case Of Coronavirus In Solano County
State public health officials said in a press release that the health risk to the general public from the novel coronavirus remains low. According to international data, the release said, approximately 80 percent of people who have tested positive for the virus don't have symptoms severe enough to require hospitalization. (Stark, 2/26)

Los Angeles Times: Orange County Declares Emergency Over Coronavirus Outbreak
Orange County has declared a local health emergency in response to the novel coronavirus, which has killed thousands globally, officials announced Wednesday. The move is largely in response to a proposal to move coronavirus patients to a facility in Costa Mesa, which has sparked a bitter court battle, Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel and Vice Chairman Andrew Do said at a news conference. (Shalby, 2/26)

San Francisco Chronicle: What It’s Like To Be A Coronavirus Patient In San Francisco
Rick Wright said he feels perfectly fine.That’s despite the fact he tested positive for the coronavirus after being evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan and has been in a hospital room for the past week with his vitals checked by medical professionals in hazmat suits. His wife is quarantined at Travis Air Force Base. (Moench, 2/26)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Hospitals Scramble To Prepare For Coronavirus; ‘When Are We Going To Get The Test Kits?’
As the new coronavirus continues to spread in Europe, the Middle East and Asia — and Solano County recorded the first U.S. case unrelated to international travel, raising fears of a local outbreak — Bay Area hospitals are bracing for the possibility of large numbers of coronavirus patients at a time many are already stretched thin because of the flu season. Hospitals are doing practice runs for workers on how to triage and treat coronavirus patients, including putting on and taking off protective gowns, gloves and glasses, and are considering plans to potentially add isolation rooms or isolation wards if the need arises. (Ho, 2/26)

Elsewhere, states brace for potential cases —

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Prepares For Coronavirus Amid Conflicting Directions From Federal Officials And President Trump
As countries across Asia and Europe continue to report new coronavirus cases, and more than four dozen cases are logged in the United States, Maryland officials say they are preparing for what might come. The officials outlined their readiness after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned states and residents to start making plans for inevitable cases, though President Donald Trump denied at a Wednesday news conference that there was much of a threat. He said the risk remains low because of steps taken to close the border to potentially infected visitors. (Cohn, Knezevich and Bowie, 2/27)

The CT Mirror: Five Things To Know About Coronavirus And What State Is Doing To Prepare
With federal officials warning there will be a rapid spread of the coronavirus in the U.S., there were heightened concerns in Connecticut Wednesday about the state’s readiness to respond to the virus. Gov. Ned Lamont held a news conference, flanked by state and health care officials, late Wednesday afternoon in an attempt to allay residents’ fears about the epidemic. (Thomas and Lyons, 2/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Hollywood Grapples With Impact Of Coronavirus
The coronavirus outbreak has already forced Hollywood studios to postpone several prominent films’ release in China. Now the epidemic is starting to disrupt production of the next slate of blockbusters. Practically all movie theaters in the world’s second-largest box office market have been closed since late January, an extraordinary measure Chinese health officials took as the number of new coronavirus cases, especially in major cities, grew rapidly. (Watson, 2/27)

Boston Globe: As CDC Warns Of Coronavirus’s Spread In US, Officials Reveal That More Than 600 In Mass. Have Been Monitored For Illness
More than 600 Massachusetts residents who traveled to China recently have voluntarily quarantined themselves at home while being monitored for the novel coronavirus, health officials revealed Wednesday. So far, 377 have completed the quarantine without falling ill, and 231 are still being monitored, Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said. Only one Massachusetts resident — a Boston student — contracted the illness, and he is recovering well in isolation at home, Bharel said. (Freyer, 2/26)

State House News Service: DPH Commissioner: Hundreds Have Self-Quarantined, But There's Still Just 1 Confirmed Case Of Coronavirus In Mass.
Stressing that the risk of contracting novel coronavirus remains low in Massachusetts, state public health officials said Tuesday that they are prepared for a potential outbreak. Tens of thousands of cases of the respiratory illness now known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China, have been diagnosed worldwide. (Lannan, 2/26)

Boston Globe: Businesses Need To Start Preparing Now For Virus Outbreak
The stark warning, from a federal health official, was a wake-up call for employers in Boston and around the country that hadn’t been focused on whether the coronavirus epidemic would make its way from China to the United States. “It’s not so much of a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more of a question of exactly when this will happen,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said at a news conference Tuesday. (Edelman, 2/26)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: 'Everybody Should Have An Emergency Plan': New Orleans Health Officials Prepare For Coronavirus
There have not been any reported cases of coronavirus in New Orleans or the state of Louisiana, but New Orleans Health Department officials are taking steps to prepare for a possible arrival. New Orleans Department of Health Director Dr. Jennifer Avegno said the city is revisiting emergency plans and communicating with the Louisiana Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Woodruff, 2/26)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Health Authorities Prepare For Coronavirus
Metro Atlanta hospitals are on high alert and trading information with public health departments. Local schools are using Lysol wipes in classrooms and devising contingency plans if they need to close. Businesses around Georgia are rethinking travel.After weeks of watching the coronavirus mushroom across China, then spread to other parts of Asia and jump to other continents, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now telling Americans they should prepare for potentially major disruptions to their daily lives. (Oliviero, Kempner and Hart, 2/26)