The United States Confirms the Eighth Case of Coronavirus

The US healthcare officials have confirmed an eighth case of the Coronavirus in US regarding a person who recently arrived from China. The patient who has not been identified yet is in Massachusetts as reported by a spokeswoman from the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The patient had recently returned from the Hubei province in central China which is the center of the outbreak. No other details concerning the patient have been provided.

Coronavirus is flu-like and originated from a market illegally trading wildlife in Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei. It has resulted in 259 deaths in China so far according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Only one of the patients in the US is believed to have contracted the Corona virus in the Wuhan area. This is the first report of a human-to-human transmission in the US.

Almost 12,000 people have been affected globally according to the WHO, with 130 cases in China. The US has declared a public health emergency and barred entry temporarily to foreign nationals who have recently visited China.

The US Airlines have also suspended flights to and from China. The first quarantines of the US citizens potentially exposed to the Coronavirus in China began a little before the White House announcement on Friday. 

Almost 200 Americans were evacuated from the Wuhan area and were voluntarily quarantined in a California military airbase for 72 hours of health screenings. It is the CDC’s first quarantine order in 50 years.