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| Dozens of staffers at Calif. hospital that treated coronavirus patient with no travel to affected countries are being monitored | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| BREAKING: The patient, a Solano County woman, who has no recent travel history to areas hit by the outbreak or contact with another confirmed case, was initially admitted to NorthBay VacaValley Hospital, a 50-bed community hospital in Vacaville, Calif., with flulike symptoms, according to a person briefed on the situation. Because of her deteriorating condition, she was transferred four days later to UC Davis Medical Center. To date, no one at the community hospital has tested positive for the virus. | |
| This is a developing story. It will be updated. | |
| VACAVILLE, Calif. — A Northern California woman has contracted the coronavirus without traveling to regions hit by the outbreak or coming into contact with anyone known to have the infection, the first sign the disease may be spreading within a U.S. community, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday night. | |
| The woman wasn’t tested for the disease for days, despite an immediate request to the CDC, because she didn’t meet the strict criteria for the test, according UC Davis Medical Center, where she is being treated. The CDC could not immediately be reached for comment. But federal health officials have said clinicians always have discretion to order the test for people who do not meet the criteria. | |
| The state of California is calling the case, first reported by The Washington Post, its first instance of community transmission. | The state of California is calling the case, first reported by The Washington Post, its first instance of community transmission. |
| The patient is a Solano County woman who brought herself to NorthBay VacaValley Hospital, a 50-bed community hospital in Vacaville, Calif., with flu-like symptoms on Feb. 15, according to a person briefed on the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity. | |
| Staff there questioned her about travel and contacts under CDC guidelines, but she did not meet the criteria for someone who should be tested for the virus, the person said. | |
| The hospital is monitoring the health of scores of staff members who may have come in contact with her, the person said. Most are tracking their own health, but staff who had direct contact with the woman have been tested for the virus. So far, there have been no positive tests among them, the person said. | |
| Information on the woman’s family, work and social contacts was not immediately available, the person said. | |
| Staff at NorthBay inserted a tube in the woman’s lungs to help her breathe, a procedure experts say increases risk of exposure to the virus because it can aerosolize respiratory droplets. | |
| When the woman’s health continued to decline, she was transferred to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, which has more capacity and expertise with pulmonary patients, the person briefed on the matter said. UC Davis officials said she arrived there on Feb. 19. | |
| 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. | 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. |
| How the woman acquired the respiratory disease covid-19 is unknown. | |
| “It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of covid-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement, referring to the disease caused by the coronavirus. The health agency left open the possibility “that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected.” | “It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of covid-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement, referring to the disease caused by the coronavirus. The health agency left open the possibility “that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected.” |
| If the infection is confirmed to be a case of “community spread,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, epidemiologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, “it would confirm what we have long suspected — that there is a good chance there already are people infected in this country and that the virus is circulating undetected. It points to the need for expanded surveillance so we know how many more are out there and how to respond.” | If the infection is confirmed to be a case of “community spread,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, epidemiologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, “it would confirm what we have long suspected — that there is a good chance there already are people infected in this country and that the virus is circulating undetected. It points to the need for expanded surveillance so we know how many more are out there and how to respond.” |
| The CDC said the case “was detected through the U.S. public health system — picked up by astute clinicians.” The agency said only that the person lived in California. | The CDC said the case “was detected through the U.S. public health system — picked up by astute clinicians.” The agency said only that the person lived in California. |
| Two UC Davis officials sent an email to employees Wednesday that said the patient arrived at the medical center Feb. 19 but was not tested until Sunday because they did not meet the criteria for testing. That includes recent travel to China or close contact with a confirmed case. | Two UC Davis officials sent an email to employees Wednesday that said the patient arrived at the medical center Feb. 19 but was not tested until Sunday because they did not meet the criteria for testing. That includes recent travel to China or close contact with a confirmed case. |
| The patient arrived from another hospital in Northern California, according to the email send to UC Davis Medical Center employees from David Lubarsky, vice chancellor of human health sciences, and Brad Simmons, interim chief executive. | The patient arrived from another hospital in Northern California, according to the email send to UC Davis Medical Center employees from David Lubarsky, vice chancellor of human health sciences, and Brad Simmons, interim chief executive. |
| “When the patient arrived, the patient had already been intubated, was on a ventilator, and given droplet protection orders because of an undiagnosed and suspected viral condition,” they wrote. “Since the patient arrived with a suspected viral infection, our care teams have been taking the proper infection prevention (contact droplet) precautions during the patient’s stay.” | “When the patient arrived, the patient had already been intubated, was on a ventilator, and given droplet protection orders because of an undiagnosed and suspected viral condition,” they wrote. “Since the patient arrived with a suspected viral infection, our care teams have been taking the proper infection prevention (contact droplet) precautions during the patient’s stay.” |
| UC Davis asked the CDC to conduct a test for the virus because local and state labs were not doing so. “Since the patient did not fit the existing CDC criteria for covid-19, a test was not immediately administered. UC Davis Health does not control the testing process,” they wrote. | UC Davis asked the CDC to conduct a test for the virus because local and state labs were not doing so. “Since the patient did not fit the existing CDC criteria for covid-19, a test was not immediately administered. UC Davis Health does not control the testing process,” they wrote. |
| The CDC ordered a test Sunday and additional precautions were taken, they wrote. The agency confirmed the positive test Wednesday. | The CDC ordered a test Sunday and additional precautions were taken, they wrote. The agency confirmed the positive test Wednesday. |
| There are indications other hospitals could be involved in the case. Kris Concepcion, fire chief and acting public information officer in Vacaville, Calif., said county officials had issued a directive not to transport any new patients to two local hospitals — NorthBay VacaValley Hospital in Vacaville and NorthBay Medical Center in nearby Fairfield. Concepcion declined to say why those orders had been given. | There are indications other hospitals could be involved in the case. Kris Concepcion, fire chief and acting public information officer in Vacaville, Calif., said county officials had issued a directive not to transport any new patients to two local hospitals — NorthBay VacaValley Hospital in Vacaville and NorthBay Medical Center in nearby Fairfield. Concepcion declined to say why those orders had been given. |
| Steve Huddleston, vice president of public affairs at NorthBay Healthcare, declined to comment. He said the hospital was directing all inquiries to the California Department of Public Health. | Steve Huddleston, vice president of public affairs at NorthBay Healthcare, declined to comment. He said the hospital was directing all inquiries to the California Department of Public Health. |
| The person briefed on the situation said the ban on new patients lasted only through Wednesday night. | |
| The two hospitals are in Solano County, home to Travis Air Force Base, where hundreds of Americans repatriated from China and others brought home from the Diamond Princess cruise ship have been kept in quarantine. Many of them have been released. | The two hospitals are in Solano County, home to Travis Air Force Base, where hundreds of Americans repatriated from China and others brought home from the Diamond Princess cruise ship have been kept in quarantine. Many of them have been released. |
| The health department said it has already begun tracing people who may have come in contact with the coronavirus-infected individual. | The health department said it has already begun tracing people who may have come in contact with the coronavirus-infected individual. |
| “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 Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health and state public health officer. | “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 Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health and state public health officer. |
| The virus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has killed 2,801 people and sickened more than 82,000 as it has spread around the globe, reaching every continent except Antarctica. The CDC on Tuesday warned Americans that community spread is almost certain to occur, and to prepare for significant disruption in their daily lives. | The virus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has killed 2,801 people and sickened more than 82,000 as it has spread around the globe, reaching every continent except Antarctica. The CDC on Tuesday warned Americans that community spread is almost certain to occur, and to prepare for significant disruption in their daily lives. |
| President Trump on Wednesday evening appointed Vice President Pence as the new head of the task force coordinating the battle against the virus. | President Trump on Wednesday evening appointed Vice President Pence as the new head of the task force coordinating the battle against the virus. |
| Faiz Siddiqui, Geoffrey A. Fowler and Nitasha Tiku in San Francisco contributed to this report. | Faiz Siddiqui, Geoffrey A. Fowler and Nitasha Tiku in San Francisco contributed to this report. |
| Trump appoints Pence to lead coronavirus battle | Trump appoints Pence to lead coronavirus battle |
| A faulty coronavirus test delays monitoring of disease’s spread | A faulty coronavirus test delays monitoring of disease’s spread |
| Shortages, confusion, poor communication complicate coronavirus preparations | Shortages, confusion, poor communication complicate coronavirus preparations |