Another case of the deadly coronavirus was confirmed in the United States, a day after Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar declared a public health emergency.
Massachusetts health officials reported the state’s first confirmed case of the new coronavirus, increasing the number of confirmed cases in America to eight.
The man infected with the virus is in his 20s and lives in Boston, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said in a statement Saturday.
“The man recently traveled to Wuhan, China, and sought medical care soon after his return to Massachusetts. He has been isolated since that time and will continue to remain isolated until cleared by public health officials. His few close contacts have been identified and are being monitored for any sign of symptoms,” the statement said.
Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said the risk to the public from coronavirus remains low in the state.
Officials have confirmed three other cases in California, two in Illinois, and one each in Washington state and Arizona.
On Friday, Azar declared the virus a public health emergency in the U.S. and ordered any American citizens returning from Hubei province in China, the epicenter of the outbreak, to be quarantined for two weeks.
U.S. citizens who’ve traveled anywhere else in mainland China in the past 14 days will be subject to enhanced screening and “monitored self-quarantine” in their homes for two weeks, he said. All foreign nationals who have been in China in the past two weeks will be denied entry to the U.S.
Nearly 10,000 people have been infected worldwide, and at least 210 have died.
