Frightening photo shows Nebraska woman, 36, with coronavirus being taken to biocontainment unit as she develops acute respiratory distress syndrome after traveling back from UK where she began to feel ill
- Nebraska woman, 36, is the first person in the state to test positive to coronavirus
- Her illness is now developing into acute respiratory distress syndrome – which is often fatal
- The woman was rushed to a biocontainment unit at The University of Nebraska Medical Center late Friday
- She traveled back from England 10 days ago, despite feeling ill; doctors say they are not sure where she has been or who she has had contact with since
- More than 380 people across 28 states have been diagnosed with coronavirus; 19 people have died
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A Nebraska woman who contracted coronavirus has been rushed to a biocontainment unit as her disease develops into acute respiratory distress syndrome.
The 36-year-old was photographed being transported to the facility, located at The University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, in a hi-tech isolation pod late Friday.
The woman, who is the first person in Nebraska to test positive to coronavirus, is ‘very seriously ill’, according to doctors who spoke with Omaha.com Saturday.
A chest CT scan conducted yesterday showed the coronavirus is evolving into acute respiratory distress syndrome (ADRS).
The syndrome, which is characterized by a rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs, is often fatal.
People with ARDS suffer severe shortness of breath and often are unable to breathe on their own without support from a ventilator.
The woman reportedly traveled to England with her father February 18 to February 27.
A Nebraska woman who contracted coronavirus, aged 36, has been rushed to a biocontainment unit as her disease develops into acute respiratory distress syndrome. She is pictured in a hi-techn isolation pod
She began to feel ill on February 25, two days before she flew back into the United States.
Doctors say they are still trying to piece together where she went and who she had contact with in the 10 days since she arrived back from overseas.
According to doctors, her symptoms were quite mild until Thursday (March 5), when she arrived at a local emergency room.
As her condition took a turn for the worse Friday, a decision was made to move her from Omaha’s Methodist Hospital to the to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit.
Desperate to avoid contagion, the woman was place in an isolation pod, made of heavy duty plastic and complete with a dozen ports for ventilators and other tubes.
Medics donned plastic face shields, rubber gloves and rain boots as they moved her from the ambulance in a stretcher.
The frightening photograph captures the escalating coronavirus crisis in the United States, where more than 330 citizens have now tested positive to the disease.
Desperate to avoid contagion, the woman was place in an isolation pod, made of heavy duty plastic and complete with a dozen ports for ventilators and other tubes
The situation in Nebraska comes as :
- 380 other Americans in 27 other states have tested positive to coronavirus
- Two elderly people died in relation to the illness inWashington state Saturday
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency after diagnoses skyrocketed to 76
- 21 people on board a cruise ship floating off the coast of San Francisco are infected with the disease
- Stanford University cancelled all in-person classes for the remainder of winter semester after a faculty member tested positive to coronavirus
- The NBA prepares its stars to play matches without fans in attendance
- Apple told all 12,000 employees at its headquarters Apple Park to remain home Friday, following similar guidance from Facebook and Microsoft
- City officials in Austin announced that South by South West festival is cancelled after dozens of stars and companies dropped out
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Meanwhile, on Saturday more people connected to a Washington state care home have died from coronavirus, bringing the US death toll to 19.
The victims are reported to be two women aged in their 80s, connected to Life Care Center of Kirkland. It is currently unclear whether they were residents of the facility, or had visited the premises in recent weeks.
16 people connected to the care home have now died from the disease.
Meanwhile, on Saturday more people connected to a Washington state care home have died from coronavirus, bringing the US death toll to 19. A resident is pictured being taken for treatment
Life Care Center employees 180 residents – and 70 of those are now off sick, showing symptoms of coronavirus.
Also on Saturday, the number of those diagnosed with coronavirus in Washington state eclipsed 100, as three counties reported their first cases – confirmation that the virus is spreading.
Officials of Pierce, Clark and Kittitas counties said that the affected people are either hospitalized or in isolation.
It comes after two elderly residents in Florida died Friday in relation to coronavirus.
