Health officials confirmed Wednesday that someone living in California caught the coronavirus despite having never traveled to Wuhan, China, where the epicenter of the virus began.
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the person also didn’t have any exposure to anyone with the virus, as far as they could tell.
There is still much scientists don’t know about the virus, including how long it remains in the air or on surfaces and the extent to which people without symptoms can transmit the virus to others.
The case announced Wednesday was the first instance of someone getting sick despite not traveling to a place where he or she might have been infected, but officials said it was also possible the person had unknowingly crossed another person who had traveled outside the United States.
“This case was detected through the U.S. public health system — picked up by astute clinicians,” the CDC said in a release.
Fifteen people in the U.S. have the illness. Twelve were infected after traveling to the area of China where the virus started and two more were close family members who were infected. The U.S. government has brought back 42 other people who were on a cruise ship, two of whom were infected, and quarantined them. On Wednesday, President Trump tried to tamp down fears about the virus, saying that it was similar to the flu and that officials were prepared.
