Up to a HUNDRED health workers were exposed to the undiagnosed coronavirus patient

As many as 100 healthcare workers may have been exposed to the California woman who went four days untested for coronavirus.  

The doctors and nurses are from the University of California Davis Medical Center, where the woman is being treated, and from NorthBay VacaValley Hospital.

”There were multiple health care personnel who were exposed to the individual,’ Dr Bela Matyas, public health officer from Solano County, said at a news conference on Thursday. 

‘At both hospitals we are at present aggressively evaluating everyone who may have had contact with this patient. They are being identified and their risk for exposure is being assessed.’ 

Some are under isolation, some are under quarantine and others have been sent home to continuously monitor their status. 

As for the patient, she is reportedly in very serious condition and is currently intubated, Rep John Garamendi (D-CA) told CNN.

Doctors requested a test for the virus, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ruled out the disease because the patient ‘did not fit the…criteria’ for testing. However, after the woman’s medical team persisted, a test was finally performed on Sunday. 

Health officials have been stumped by the woman’s case because it’s unclear how she contracted the disease. She didn’t travel abroad, wasn’t exposed to another infected patient , and she wasn’t repatriated from China or the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.

Instead, ‘this does appear to be a person who genuinely did acquire their illness in the community,’ Dr Matyas sai. 

According to the CDC, the patient, could be what is known as the first instance of ‘community spread’ of the virus, and more cases like hers will soon follow.

More than 83,000 people have been infected in more than 50 countries and more than 2,800 people – mostly in China – have died.

As many as 100 healthcare workers may have been exposed to the California patient who went untested for coronavirus for four days. This image shows medical staff treating patients infected by the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, on Monday 

The patient, who is a resident of Solano County, is reportedly in serious condition and currently intubated at UC Davis Medical Center

The patient, who is a resident of Solano County, is reportedly in serious condition and currently intubated at UC Davis Medical Center

Some of the healthcare workers who were exposed are in isolation, others are in quarantine, and others are at home monitoring symptoms. Image courtesy of CBS This Morning

Some of the healthcare workers who were exposed are in isolation, others are in quarantine, and others are at home monitoring symptoms. Image courtesy of CBS This Morning

Coronavirus cases in the US have now risen to 60, including 42 passengers who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, three people repatriated from China and 15 on US soil

Coronavirus cases in the US have now risen to 60, including 42 passengers who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, three people repatriated from China and 15 on US soil

  • Two students at two colleges in California are in isolation after coming into contact with a coronavirus patient
  • Supermarket and pharmacy shelves have been stripped bare by people stockpiling food and medication
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 463 points, or 1.8 percent, at the opening bell on Friday  
  • Mexico confirmed on Friday its first case of coronavirus in a woman who had traveled to Italy in February
  • The White House chief of staff accused the media of working against Trump while reporting on the outbreak
  • San Francisco’s mayor declared emergency to make it easier for city to combat possible cases of coronavirus
  • New York monitoring 83 people in self-quarantine for coronavirus symptoms after possible exposure to virus  

In addition to healthcare workers, there are fears the California patients may have come into contact with three students at three colleges in Northern California.

According to emails sent to students on both campuses, the students – who attend American River College and Cosumnes River College and Sacramento City College – were exposed last week, reported KTXL.

All three students have been told to self-quarantine for two weeks and to contact health officials if they experience symptoms such as a cough or fever.   

The California woman appears to have the first case of coronavirus.

The California woman appears to have the first case of coronavirus.

Los Rios Community College District, where the schools are located, say that neither classes nor school operations will be canceled. 

The Sacramento County Public Health Department does not believe that either campus is at risk for exposure, according to KTXL.  

In addition, three students at UC Davis are being isolated and one is undergoing CDC testing for coronavirus.

University officials say the student undergoing testing has moved off campus while the other two, who are asymptomatic are isolated on campus. 

‘In Yolo County, in the city of Davis, on the campus of UC Davis, there is no evidence of spread of coronavirus, there is no evidence of transmission of coronavirus,’ Yolo County health officer Ron Chapman said. 

Following the woman’s case, the CDC says it is changing its criteria for testing patients and is sending new guidance to healthcare workers.

Prior to this patient, suspected cases were tested if they had traveled to China or were a close contact of someone who had been tested, according to CDC Director Dr Robert Redfield.

But the changed once the California woman tested positive. 

‘As soon as that case was recognized, we met and we revised our case definition for persons under investigation,’ Redfield said. 

‘Today, that has been posted (to the CDC website) along with a new health advisory that the recommendation should be when a clinician or individual suspects coronavirus, then we should be able to get a test for coronavirus.’ 

SUPERMARKET SHELVES STRIPPED BARE AS AMERICANS STOCKPILE FOOD

Photos have emerged of bare supermarket and pharmacy shelves as American stockpile on medication and non-perishable items in fear of a coronavirus outbreak.

It comes three days after a top CDC official warned the it was not ‘a question of it…but when’ coronavirus will spread in the US. 

One Twitter user shared photos of a Virginia supermarket with just a few remaining jumbo bags of pasta.

Another user in southern Calfornia, showed how shelves in one Walgreens had been depleted of cough medicines, cold and flu medications, vaporizers, masks and thermometers. 

Supermarket shelves in Virginia are seen stripped bare of non-perishable items including jumbo bags of pasta

Supermarket shelves in Virginia are seen stripped bare of non-perishable items including jumbo bags of pasta

Photos in southern Calfornia showed how shelves in one Walgreens had been depleted of cough medicines, cold and flu medications, vaporizers, masks and thermometers

Photos in southern Calfornia showed how shelves in one Walgreens had been depleted of cough medicines, cold and flu medications, vaporizers, masks and thermometers

Photos in southern Calfornia showed how shelves in one Walgreens (left and right) had been depleted of cough medicines, cold and flu medications, vaporizers, masks and thermometers

A woman in Michigan shared pictures of her shelves piled with cans of soup, boxes of pasta, jars of peanut butter and more and referred to it as her 'grocery store basement'

A woman in Michigan shared pictures of her shelves piled with cans of soup, boxes of pasta, jars of peanut butter and more and referred to it as her ‘grocery store basement’

Others on social media opted to shared photos of their stockpiles of food, including one Texas man who bought a year’s supply.

‘I just bought an additional year’s worth of food last night. Everyone needs to have a stockpile of food,’ tweeted Jesse Colombo, is a financial analyst in Dallas.

‘Everyone needs to have a stockpile of food. I wouldn’t even touch stocks (or even gold/silver) before having food in these times.’

Meanwhile, a woman in Michigan shared pictures of her shelves piled with cans of soup, boxes of pasta, jars of peanut butter and more.

She referred to it on Twitter as her ‘grocery store basement.’ 

DOW JONES DROPS AGAIN AS CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK RAISES ALARM FOR POSSIBLE RECESSION 

As the market opened on Friday, US stock indexes fell sharply, raising the alarm of a possible global recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 463 points at the opening bell on Friday, one day after the index’s biggest one-day point drop in history.

If the Dow closes by more than 1,000 points at the end of the day, it would be the third time this week – and the second consecutive day – the index lost points in the four digit, an event that has only previously occurred twice in history. 

Trader Peter Tuchman works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday at the opening bell. The Dow quickly plunged more than 1,000 points after the open

Trader Peter Tuchman works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday at the opening bell. The Dow quickly plunged more than 1,000 points after the open

In Asia and Europe, nearly $6 trillion, or about 10 percent, has been erased from stock values over the course of the week. 

A recession would be different than a market crash. A crash occurs when the market declines in value, without any subsequent dip seen in the economy.  

But a recession is typically defined as negative GDP growth for two consecutive quarters. 

MEXICO CONFIRMS ITS FIRST CASE OF CORONAVIRUS 

Mexico says it has confirmed it first case of coronavirus in the country.

Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell said in a news conference on Friday that the male patient visited Italy – where about 650 cases have been confirmed – in the third week of February.

The patient has been placed in isolation at the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases in Mexico City and his family members are in quarantine.

López-Gatell said the patient has only had mild symptoms, resembling a cold, and he does not require hospitalization. 

Hugo Lopez-Gatell Ramirez, Mexico's Undersecretary of Health Prevention and Promotion, held a news conference in Mexico City on Friday about the country's first confirmed coronavirus case

Hugo Lopez-Gatell Ramirez, Mexico’s Undersecretary of Health Prevention and Promotion, held a news conference in Mexico City on Friday about the country’s first confirmed coronavirus case

In a separate press conference, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador urged the public to stay calm and not give into ‘a collective psychosis of fear.’

Mexico has the ‘doctors, specialists, hospitals, the capacity to face the situation,’ he said.   

The government said it waiting to get the test results back for a potential second case regarding a 41-year-old man in Sinaloa. He is currently under quarantine at a hotel. 

Two people are under examination in Mexico City and central Mexico state, but none have been confirmed to have the virus, reported The Wall Street Journal. 

WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF ADVISES AMERICANS TO IGNORE NEWS REPORTS ABOUT CORONAVIRUS 

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney implied American should ignored news reports about coronavirus and accused the media of working against President Donald Trump.

‘They think this will bring down the president. That’s what it’s all about,’ Mulvaney told the audience at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference 2020 in Maryland. ‘It’s not a death sentence. It’s not the same as the Ebola crisis.’

However, he admitted that the virus’s spread would likely impact schools and public transportation. 

Mulvaney told the crowd that he was allegedly asked by a reported: ‘What are you going to do today to calm the markets?’

‘I’m like: “Really what I might do today [to] calm the markets is tell people turn their televisions off for 24 hours.” This is not Ebola…it’s not SARS, it’s not MERS,.’

White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney implied that the media is working against Donald Trump as it reports on the coronavirus outbreak spreading around the world. Picturd: Mulvaney at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2020 in National Harbor, Maryland, on Friday

White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney implied that the media is working against Donald Trump as it reports on the coronavirus outbreak spreading around the world. Picturd: Mulvaney at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2020 in National Harbor, Maryland, on Friday

Mulvaney admitted at the same time that schools would be shut down and public transpiration would be affected. Pictured: Stephen Moore (left) of the Heritage Foundation speaks with Mulvaney

Mulvaney admitted at the same time that schools would be shut down and public transpiration would be affected. Pictured: Stephen Moore (left) of the Heritage Foundation speaks with Mulvaney

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) are cousins of the new coronavirus, but appear to be more fatal.

‘Are you going to see some schools shut down? Probably,’ Mulvaney said. 

‘May you see impacts on public transportation? Sure. But we do this. We know how to handle this.’  

His remarks comes as the Dow Jones lost about 463 points at the opening bell, the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced all schools will be closed for a month, and the US has canceled joint military drills with South Korea.   

SCHOOLS ACROSS THE US CANCEL TRIPS OVER FEAR OF OUTBREAK 

Schools across the US have been preparing for a possible spread of coronavirus by canceling trips abroad, preparing online lessons and even considering banning ‘perfect attendance’

Currently only one school, Bothell High School in Washington state, has been closed, bu top CDC official Dr Nancy Messonier has warned that more closures could be imminent.

Classes at Bothell were canceled after a staffer’s family member was placed under quarantine for showing symptoms linked to the the virus. 

‘After much consideration and information gathering from multiple sources, including our partners at Public Health Seattle & King County, I have decided to keep Bothell High School closed on Friday, Feb 28,’ said Northshore School District superintendent Michelle Reid in a statement.

‘This will provide us an opportunity to complete the cleaning and hopefully receive the results of the test.’ 

It follows moves by schools in China, Iran, Italy, Japan and Bahrain, although evidence seems to suggest that children are less likely than adults to contract the virus.

Meanwhile, in Miami, public school officials say they have prepared 200,000 laptops and tablets for students to take home in case buildings close and classes need to be taken online.

‘If there is one place where a contagion can actually spread, it could be the schoolhouse,’ Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, said at a news conference on Wednesday.

‘We are ready. We have protocols in place’. 

Miami officials also announced that field trips to Italy and Scotland would be canceled, while Virginia’s Fairfax County announced trips to countries where the virus has spread would be suspended. 

And the National School Boards Association has asked schools to reconsider perfect attendance awards, fearing students could come to school sick and infect others.  

‘School districts may want to revisit what it means to have perfect attendance,’ Francisco Negrón, chief legal officer for the group, said.

‘We certainly wouldn’t want sick kids to come to school just because their parents are shooting for that perfect attendance award’. 

NEW YORK CITY RAMPS UP PREPARATIONS FOR A POTENTIAL OUTBREAK  

The US has taken measures to quarantine anyone thought to be carrying the disease, including 83 individuals currently in quarantine in Nassau County, New York.

New York City has been ramping up preparations for a potential coronavirus outbreak.

Mayor Bill De Blasio announced at a news conference Wednesday that the city had prepared at least 1,200 hospital beds ready for if or when the disease strikes.

New York City hasn't reported any patients under investigation, but in Chinatown people are already wearing protective masks (pictured). Nearby Nassau county has 83 residents in self-isolation

New York City hasn’t reported any patients under investigation, but in Chinatown people are already wearing protective masks (pictured). Nearby Nassau county has 83 residents in self-isolation

The city has also distributed 1.5 million face masks to residents and has requested 300,000 more.

De Blasio said he is also requesting the CDC expand its testing of travelers entering the US beyond China, to include Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.

‘Right now, it is too narrowly focused on travelers coming out of China,’ he said.

‘We think that needs to be expanded to any traveler coming from a country that’s seen a major surge in cases.’

De Blasio said the city is ready to handle a possible spread of the disease.

The plans come as around 700 people have been voluntarily quarantined in New York since February 3 after they returned to the city from parts of China where the disease is widespread.

New York State Health Department officials said that none of the people quarantined were showing symptoms of the disease but they had voluntarily checked into a 14-day self-isolation.

De Blasio said the self-quarantine protocol was working in the city. No active cases of the virus have yet been confirmed in New York City.

SAN FRANCISCO AND OTHER CALIFORNIA COUNTIES DECLARE A STATE OF EMERGENCY

Several counties in the San Francisco Bay Area declared local emergencies Wednesday in response to the outbreak.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed declared a local emergency to make it easier for the city to combat possible cases of coronavirus.

‘This declaration of emergency is all about preparedness,’ Breed said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Several counties in the San Francisco Bay Area declared local emergencies Wednesday in response to the outbreak. Passengers wear masks while they wait for the flights at the LAX airport

Several counties in the San Francisco Bay Area declared local emergencies Wednesday in response to the outbreak. Passengers wear masks while they wait for the flights at the LAX airport

Flight attendants are seen at the Los Angeles International Airport wearing masks on Thursday

Flight attendants are seen at the Los Angeles International Airport wearing masks on Thursday  

Passengers were seen wearing masks throughout the Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday

Airport employees worked to keep areas sanitized (right)

Passengers (left) were seen wearing masks throughout the Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday as airport employees worked to keep areas sanitized (right) 

The Los Angeles International Airport looked eerily quiet on Thursday as employees and passengers alike continue to take precautionary measures against the spread of the coronavirus

The Los Angeles International Airport looked eerily quiet on Thursday as employees and passengers alike continue to take precautionary measures against the spread of the coronavirus

San Francisco and Orange County declared states of emergency, while Orange County also backed a bid filed by the city of Costa Mesa to block coronavirus patients from being housed in their cities.

The move will, among other things, help the city get reimbursed by state and federal governments for money it spends on preparedness, Mayor London Breed said at a news conference

Similar declarations occurred in California’s Santa Clara and San Diego counties.

Breed’s declaration is in effect for the next seven days. A board of supervisors will vote on its continuation on March 3.  

Florida governor and surgeon general REFUSE to confirm whether any suspected coronavirus cases have been tested in the state 

Officials in Florida have raised concerns about transparency after refusing to confirm whether any suspected cases of coronavirus have been tested for the disease in the state.

‘There is still no known cases of coronavirus in the state of Florida,’ Governor Ron DeSantis said at a press conference in Tallahassee on Thursday morning. 

‘Obviously, if there is — and hopefully we don’t have — any identified cases, it is something we would notify the public about,” DeSantis added.

However, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees declined to say whether anyone in the state had been suspected of infection with coronavirus but tested negative for the disease.

Rikvees and DeSantis cited state laws and privacy concerns for withholding any statistical information. 

State Democrats, who hold a minority in both houses of Florida’s legislature, blasted the Republican governor for failing to provide more information.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees (center) declined to say whether anyone in the state had been suspected of infection with coronavirus but tested negative for the disease

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees (center) declined to say whether anyone in the state had been suspected of infection with coronavirus but tested negative for the disease

‘To be clear, we are all confident in Florida’s public health infrastructure and professionals in preparing and protecting us from coronavirus,’ said Democratic state Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez in a statement.

‘What we need is better management of public information,’ he added.

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, who represents the Orlando area, also called for more transparency.

‘I was disappointed that at today’s briefing, state officials failed to be forthcoming with the public about suspected cases in Florida,” she said in a statement to WJXT-TV.

‘As a top tourist destination and home to many vulnerable seniors, Florida is uniquely at risk from the threat of this illness,’ she said.

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