The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that it has confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus spreading from one person to another in the United States.
CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield told reporters Thursday that the latest case is the second reported in Chicago and is the spouse of the person who was the first to be diagnosed in the city. Still, Redfield said, the immediate risk of the virus to the public is low.
The new patient is in his 60s, as is his wife, and has some underlying health issues, said Dr. Jennifer Layden, the chief medical officer at the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said that while there have been six total confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S., the virus is not of grave public concern yet.
”It’s important to note that these people were in close contact for an extended amount of time,” Messonnier said. “But we understand why people would panic.”
The New England Journal of Medicine reported that the virus’s incubation period from when the person is infected to when he or she begins showing symptoms is about 5.2 days. Messonnier said, though, that the data may not accurately reflect the nearly 8,000 cases reported globally. She said the incubation period could be anywhere between two and 14 days.
President Trump announced Thursday that his administration has established a task force dedicated to monitoring the coronavirus. The group is led by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and includes national security adviser Robert O’Brien, Department of Homeland Security acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, and Domestic Policy Council Director Joseph Grogan.
All Chinese provinces and 15 other countries, including France, Germany, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates, have reported cases of the virus, making the total count at least 8,000.
In an effort to block the coronavirus from crossing over from China, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin ordered the closure of Russia’s 2,670-mile far eastern border with China Thursday, only days after blocking all Chinese tour groups entering the country.
