CDC Says 15th Confirmed Case Of Coronavirus In Texas Patient
NEW YORK (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A 15th case of the new coronavirus has been confirmed in the U.S., and this time it's from a patient who is under quarantine in Texas.
Health officials announced the 15th case Thursday and that it was from a U.S. evacuee from China. The infection was confirmed through a Wednesday night lab test.
The patient, who had been flown to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, is now in isolation at a hospital and was reported in stable condition.
"Every precaution has been executed according to plan, to keep the individual isolated from the general public," San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said during a press conference with the CDC. "... San Antonians should feel confident, continue to go about their lives while the professionals treat and contain the disease.
Two earlier U.S. cases were found among evacuees who were flown last week from the Chinese city of Wuhan to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in Southern California. The latest of those cases was reported Wednesday night.
Hundreds of people, including U.S. State Department employees and their families, have arrived at military bases in Texas, California, and Nebraska aboard chartered flights from Wuhan, a city of 11 million that is at the center of the outbreak.
The novel coronavirus has infected tens of thousands of people in China and about 400 outside of the mainland. More than 1,300 deaths -- two outside of China -- have been reported from the illness.
The virus can cause fever, coughing, wheezing and pneumonia. Health officials think it spreads mainly from droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how the flu spreads.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)