The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed it is monitoring 63 patients in 22 states for possible instances of the coronavirus, which has spread quickly from its epicenter in Wuhan, China.
Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said Friday that 11 of the 63 patients have tested negative for the virus, while two have tested positive, including a Chicago woman who returned from Wuhan on Jan. 13. The woman, 60, is being treated in isolation and is said to be in stable condition.
The Chicago Department of Public Health and Illinois Department of Public Health are tracking the movements of the woman after she returned to Chicago in an effort to identify others who may be infected. The two agencies confirmed the woman had limited contact and movement outside her home since she returned from China.
A man in Washington state was confirmed to have coronavirus earlier this week. Messonnier said she expects there will be “many more [cases] identified in the coming days.”
“This is a rapidly changing situation both abroad and domestically,” said Messonnier. “Let’s remember this virus was only identified within the past month, and there is much we don’t know yet.”
Researchers with the CDC confirmed the incubation period of the virus is likely two weeks and suggested patients are showing pneumonia-like symptoms, but they warned it’s still too early to detail specifics of the virus.
“It is really early days, and we’re continuing to get information every day that is better helping us understand this virus,” Messonnier said. “We really are still in the learning stage of this novel pathogen that has just emerged.”
China has restricted travel for more than 33 million of its citizens in response to the outbreak, and on Wednesday, the Chinese government warned reporters not to travel to Wuhan.
“We hope foreign journalists in China can apprehend what is happening in Wuhan, understand the prevention and control measures taken, and heed the advice from local authorities,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang. “This is for their own good.”
