A resident of Santa Clara County has tested positive for coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Friday. This is the seventh domestic case of coronavirus and the first in the Bay Area.
Originating in Wuhan, China, the virus has spread to over 9,700 individuals and has taken the lives of 213 people worldwide, according to CNN.
The infected county resident, an adult male, flew into San Jose International Airport on Jan. 24 and has “self-isolated” at home upon arrival, only leaving twice to receive medical care, Director of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department Sara Cody said in a press conference Friday afternoon.
“We are currently reaching out to anyone who may have been exposed,” Cody said. “We’re actually quite lucky in this case because I believe the contact list will be rather short.”
When returning to the U.S., the affected resident did not travel directly from Wuhan but had been to both Wuhan and Shanghai during his time abroad. He was exposed to the virus while traveling in China, most likely in Wuhan, Cody said.
The resident has not been ill enough to require hospitalization. Those who have been in contact with him include other people in his household as well as any medical personnel that were consulted during his two outpatient visits to a hospital within the county, according to Cody.
The county is currently working on a public health investigation alongside the state and the CDC. During this investigation, all those who are confirmed to have been in contact with the infected resident will be told to isolate at home for 14 days and will be monitored closely by county public health officials, Cody said.
University spokesperson E.J. Miranda wrote in a statement to The Daily that, “to our knowledge, no one associated with the campus community has been diagnosed with novel coronavirus.” However, Stanford Environmental Health and Safety has asked all community members who have returned from China within the past 14 days to “self-isolate.”
On Thursday evening, the U.S. State Department announced a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” warning against travel to China Thursday evening. This is the highest possible travel advisory level.
Contact Camryn Pak at cpak23 ‘at’ stanford.edu.