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D.C.’s first coronavirus case is church rector; Virginia has second presumptive case, bringing region’s total to 7 Three new coronavirus cases in Md. and Va., while church rector was first case in D.C., bringing region’s total to 9
(about 3 hours later)
The first confirmed case of coronavirus in the District is the rector of Christ Church Georgetown, church and city officials said Sunday. A D.C. church leader who oversaw services for hundreds of worshipers was identified Sunday as the first confirmed coronavirus patient in the District, while authorities in Maryland and Virginia announced three new cases, but said the risks for public exposure were low.
The Rev. Timothy Cole, the church’s top-ranking clergy, tested positive on Saturday, a church official said. D.C. officials confirmed he was the same man in his 50s with no recent international travel whom they identified as the first presumptive case. The number of known coronavirus cases in the Washington region reached nine as local public health authorities moved to increase their testing capabilities and contain the spread of the illness.
The historic Episcopal church canceled Sunday services — the first cancellation since a fire in the 19th century — and has been calling and emailing parishioners. Cole has been hospitalized since Thursday and is in stable condition, officials said. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced two new confirmed cases Sunday evening, bringing the state’s total to five. They include a Harford County woman in her 80s and a Montgomery County man in his 60s, both of whom contracted the virus while traveling overseas, according to the governor.
Cole fell ill shortly after attending an episcopal conference in Louisville on Feb 22, church spokesman Rob Volmer said. Cole’s health improved before he attended church events last weekend, and deteriorated early this week before his Thursday hospitalization. How to sign up for our free coronavirus newsletter (with relaxed paywall)
Volmer said Cole was present for four services last Sunday attended by 550 people. Cole provided Communion to parishioners during the 11:15 a.m. service, Volmer said, and washed his hands before handing out the bread. Maryland health officials do not believe there is a major risk of community exposure or any connection to three cases in Montgomery County announced Thursday, meaning the state has no evidence of community transmission. Hogan is scheduled to release more details at a Monday afternoon news conference.
Cole did not appear to show symptoms then, had been vigilant about using hand sanitizer available throughout the church and washing his hands, and had spent part of his services reminding parishioners about good hygiene practices, Volmer said. His wife and son are self-quarantined at their home. Virginia officials said Sunday that a Fairfax City resident in his 80s tested positive for coronavirus. They believed there was a low risk of exposure to the public because he had limited interactions with the community.
Cole told parishioners there was “no need to panic” in an email Sunday. And in the District, Christ Church Georgetown said the Rev. Timothy Cole, the top-ranking clergy as rector, tested positive for the virus on Saturday. District officials confirmed he was the same man in his 50s with no recent international travel whom they identified Saturday as the first presumptive case.
The historical Episcopal church canceled Sunday services — the first cancellation since a fire in the 19th century — and has been calling and emailing parishioners. D.C. health officials said they have launched an “intensive investigation to identify any exposures” at the church.
Cole fell ill shortly after attending an episcopal conference in Louisville on Feb. 22, church spokesman Rob Volmer said. His health improved before he attended church events last weekend, including four services attended by 550 people March 1.
Cole provided Communion to parishioners during the 11:15 a.m. service, Volmer said, and washed his hands before doing so.
Cole, who did not appear to show symptoms then, had been vigilant about using hand sanitizer available throughout the church and washing his hands, and had spent part of his services reminding parishioners about good hygiene practices, Volmer said.
But Cole’s health deteriorated after Sunday, and he was diagnosed with the flu on Tuesday, Volmer said. He was admitted to a hospital Thursday, and a coronavirus test came back positive Saturday.
His wife and son are self-quarantined at their home, while Cole is hospitalized in stable condition.
Cole told parishioners there was “no need to panic” in a message Sunday.
“First, I want to assure you that I will be okay,” Cole wrote. “I am receiving excellent care and am in good spirits under the circumstances. I will remain quarantined for the next 14 days as will the rest of my family.”“First, I want to assure you that I will be okay,” Cole wrote. “I am receiving excellent care and am in good spirits under the circumstances. I will remain quarantined for the next 14 days as will the rest of my family.”
D.C. officials did not respond to questions Sunday about the risk of exposure to those who attended Christ Church Georgetown. The health department said it would reach out to “potentially impacted” congregants and visitors.
Coronavirus threatens one of the most holy Christian traditions: CommunionCoronavirus threatens one of the most holy Christian traditions: Communion
Meanwhile, Virginia announced its second presumptive case, involving a resident of Fairfax City. The person in his or her 80s “traveled on a similar Nile cruise” as other patients who have tested positive, the Virginia Department of Health said. The resident showed signs of a respiratory illness Feb. 28 and was hospitalized Thursday. The person is in stable condition. Since the coronavirus outbreak began in the Wuhan province of China, the virus has infected more than 109,000 people globally and has killed more than 3,700. Italy launched a plan Sunday to restrict the movement of 16 million people across northern regions of the country after a surge in cases.
State officials say both Virginia cases pose low risk of exposure to the general public. Confirmed cases in the United States topped 500 Sunday, with fatalities rising to 21 after the deaths of two more residents of an infection-stricken nursing home in Washington state.
The Fairfax resident had “very little exposure” to the community after returning home and had no interaction with school-age children before being hospitalized, Benjamin Schwartz, Fairfax County’s lead epidemiologist said at a Sunday afternoon news conference. His spouse is not showing symptoms of Covid-19 but is currently being tested. To curb the spread of the virus, authorities are urging people to regularly wash their hands, avoid close contact with people who are sick and stay home when ill. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, patients are thought to be the most contagious when they are the most symptomatic, but some spread may be possible before people are visibly sick.
The total number of cases in the Washington region has reached seven. The announcement about the Fairfax City resident came less than a day after Virginia announced its first presumptive positive patient — a U.S. Marine assigned to Fort Belvoir. The Marine had returned recently from “official business” overseas, tweeted Jonathan Rath Hoffman, assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs. In an interview Friday, Dr. Jinlene Chan, Maryland’s assistant health secretary, said there is a lot unknown about the virus and its transmission, including when asymptomatic people could shed infectious virus. That certainly can happen when covid-19 patients are showing symptoms, she said, but it was not as clear when — if at all — during the 14-day incubation period patients who are not showing symptoms could potentially transmit it.
The Department of Defense is leading the effort to trace his contacts, local authorities said. It is not immediately clear whether he interacted with school age children or the elderly before being hospitalized. Meanwhile, many have questions about who should be tested and when.
And organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference said a person who attended their event at Maryland’s National Harbor in late February had been infected. D.C. resident Maggie McDow, 46, who traveled through the Seoul airport after a trip to Thailand late last month, said she was alarmed when the D.C. Health Department overruled an emergency room doctor treating her Friday at George Washington University Hospital, preventing her from being tested for the virus. She wrote about the experience in a Facebook post shared widely on Saturday.
Coronavirus in the DMV: What you need to know “It’s really worrisome to me when a doctor feels you should have a test and someone’s overruling them,” McDow said in a phone interview Saturday while self-quarantined with achiness and chills. “To me that’s just wrong.”
On Thursday, Maryland health officials announced that three individuals in Montgomery County — a couple in their 70s and an unrelated woman in her 50s — tested positive for the virus after returning home from a cruise on the Nile. The three patients are recovering from flu-like symptoms but are in good condition. A top health department official said McDow did not qualify for testing because airport exposure, even in a country like Korea with community spread of the disease, does not warrant testing.
On Saturday, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) also announced the District’s second presumptive case: a visitor who stayed in the District before testing positive for the virus in a Maryland hospital. “We bring a different perspective to that single clinical encounter,” Anjali Talwalkar, senior deputy director for the community health administration at the D.C. Health Department, said at a Saturday evening news conference. “An airport is not considered by CDC to be that kind of exposure.”
Bowser (D) said Saturday that Cole, whose name was not given at the time, is not believed to have traveled outside the United States or been in close contact with anyone else who is infected. Still, the situation left McDow frustrated about halfway through a period of self-isolation that meant she hadn’t seen her 13- and 14-year old daughters in more than two weeks.
The mayor said the other person who developed symptoms of covid-19 is still hospitalized in Maryland. She did not give details of his condition. Covid-19 is the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. She said after a week in Thailand, she began to feel sick on her flight home to Dulles International Airport, and in the next few days she twice contacted the D.C. Health Department for guidance.
D.C. health department officials are conducting “contact tracing” investigations to determine with whom the two men came into contact. She said she was told she was low risk, but finally went to the emergency room at GWU Hospital. There, she said, a doctor ruled out the flu and other illnesses and wanted to test her for coronavirus, but District health officials refused.
“Our message to D.C. residents continues to be: Help us prevent the spread of germs and stay informed,” Bowser said at a news conference Saturday night at the Wilson Building. “I didn’t know I should have stayed in Thailand to get better medical care,” McDow said. “We’re supposed to be the best in the world at this. There’s just a false sense of security.”
Live updates: The latest news on the coronavirus from around the worldLive updates: The latest news on the coronavirus from around the world
She urged residents to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to wash hands, cover coughs and stay home if sick. The mayor said she has no plans to cancel District-sponsored events. All the confirmed cases in Maryland and Virginia so far involve people who authorities believe contracted the virus overseas.
“We recognize that it is fluid, and every day we will monitor the situation on the ground in the District,” Bowser said. “We put the safety of D.C. residents first.” The Fairfax City resident “traveled on a similar Nile cruise” as other patients who have tested positive in Maryland, the Virginia Health Department said. The resident showed signs of a respiratory illness Feb. 28 and was hospitalized Thursday. The person is in stable condition.
The resident had “very little exposure” to the community after returning home and had no interaction with school-age children before being hospitalized, Benjamin Schwartz, Fairfax County’s lead epidemiologist, said at a Sunday afternoon news conference. His spouse is not showing symptoms of covid-19 but is being tested.
The announcement about the Fairfax City resident came less than a day after Virginia announced its first presumptive positive patient — a U.S. Marine assigned to Fort Belvoir. The Marine had recently returned from “official business” overseas, tweeted Jonathan Rath Hoffman, assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs.
The Defense Department is leading the effort to trace his contacts, local authorities said. It is not immediately clear whether he interacted with school-age children or the elderly before being hospitalized. Officials said he is being treated at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.
Additionally, Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System said Sunday that an employee has been self-quarantined since learning Saturday about exposure to a person outside the county who tested positive for coronavirus. Officials declined to say which patient the employee had been exposed to.
Coronavirus in the DMV: What you need to know
In Maryland, Hogan urged residents not to panic over the new cases announced Sunday.
“We continue to hope for the best, and actively plan for the worst,” Hogan said in a statement. “I encourage all Marylanders to remain calm, but to take this seriously and continue to stay informed.”
Agencies across the Washington region have been ramping up efforts to test for coronavirus cases.
Jenifer Smith, director of the D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences, said the city’s public lab can test 50 people a day. Testing capabilities in the District will increase when private labs receive testing kits.Jenifer Smith, director of the D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences, said the city’s public lab can test 50 people a day. Testing capabilities in the District will increase when private labs receive testing kits.
The Marine who tested positive is being treated at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, Rath Hoffman said.
The Virginia Department of Health said the state government is working with officials at the hospital. It said there has been no evidence of coronavirus spreading in the state, and the risk to the general public remains low.
As of Sunday, Virginia has two test kits with the capacity to test up to 400 people — an adequate amount given the existing cases, said Dr. Denise Toney, the state’s director of lab services. More test kits are on their way, she added.As of Sunday, Virginia has two test kits with the capacity to test up to 400 people — an adequate amount given the existing cases, said Dr. Denise Toney, the state’s director of lab services. More test kits are on their way, she added.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said state officials had discussed the CPAC-related infection with the CDC, the White House, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the state health agency in New Jersey, where the person was reportedly hospitalized. Maryland’s public lab can test about 1,000 people, and officials are working with the CDC to double that capacity, officials said.
Hogan (R) urged people who attended the conference in Prince George’s County to take their temperature twice a day and notify their health-care provider and local health department if that temperature exceeds 100.4 or if they develop a cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Anyone with those symptoms should remain at home until they receive instructions about next steps from their health-care provider or local health department, Hogan said in a statement.
Coronavirus in the DMV: What you need to know
President Trump and Vice President Pence both attended the conference. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that the White House is aware of the patient and added that “at this time there is no indication” that either Trump or Pence “met with or were in close proximity to the attendee.”
Maryland lawmakers who went to CPAC said they spent Saturday evening texting friends to check their health after learning a conference attendee had been diagnosed with coronavirus.
“None of us are sick,” said Del. Lauren R. Arikan (R-Harford). But Arikan, who is 24 weeks pregnant, said she is now second-guessing her decision to attend the event.
“I almost didn’t go because … of the virus, but I didn’t want to be one of those nutty people staying in,” she said. “I didn’t want to overreact, but now I feel like I underreacted.”
Arikan said she spent the majority of her time in the main hall. The infected person was not in that area, according to an email CPAC organizers sent to attendees.
“We were obsessively washing our hands, going to the bathroom, washing our hands,” she said, noting that attendees weren’t allowed to carry purses, so she had no hand sanitizer with her. “But now I think about it, the bathroom is where sick people are.”
Del. Matt Morgan (R-St. Mary’s) attended the conference with his wife and daughters. None are showing any symptoms, he said, and he thinks there is little chance his family was exposed.
“We were all there for a short amount of time … It wasn’t like we were shaking hands,” he said.
Del. Sid A. Saab (R-Anne Arundel) said he received the email from conference organizers on Saturday afternoon. The email said to “remain calm and to listen to health providers,” he said. “I feel fine,” Saab said, adding that he is not anxious because he has sat in on briefings with the state health department. “I’ve been washing my hands.”
Meanwhile, officials said no residents or staff members have tested positive for or exhibited symptoms of coronavirus at the Village of Rockville, a sprawling retirement community that was visited on Feb. 28 by one of the patients in Montgomery County.
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Allison Combs, a spokeswoman from the Village, said the facility had been screening residents and employees for symptoms associated with coronavirus even before Hogan announced Friday night that the woman who tested positive had been there.
Staffers at the Village are working to identify the individuals who were with her at the Feb. 28 post-funeral reception for a former resident. Those individuals would then undergo more frequent screening. It is unclear how many Village residents were there.
The Maryland Department of Health has not recommended that attendees of the Feb. 28 event be quarantined, Combs said. Out of an abundance of caution, the Village — a 27-acre retirement community that houses about 300 people — has reduced visiting hours and postponed all gatherings and public events.
Hogan said attendees of the event should contact health officials and watch for symptoms.
On Friday, the grandson of the man whose funeral the patient attended called a phone number provided by the state and was told he did not need to be tested because he was not showing flu-like symptoms.
“It has made it a lot more real,” the grandson said. “Honestly, the past week or so, I grew sick of the name ‘coronavirus.’ But it has driven it a lot closer to home, knowing that the event in question was my grandfather’s shiva.”
Peggy Shelly of New York said she has not received information or been able to get in contact with her 96-year-old mother at the Village, which used to be called the National Lutheran Home and is located on Veirs Drive, about two miles west of Interstate 270.
“I’m a little bit surprised that the management at the Village haven’t reached out to us,” she said Saturday. “The only information I have is pulled from Twitter.”
Combs said they have sent out information to all family members who provided their emails to the Village.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.