9th US Case of Coronavirus Confirmed in Bay Area, California

Travelers arrive to the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) wearing masks for protection against COVID-19 in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 2, 2020. David McNew/Getty Images

The ninth U.S. case of coronavirus was confirmed on Sunday evening by local health officials in California’s Santa Clara County—the second case reported in the Bay Area since the outbreak began.

The Santa Clara County Public Health Department said an adult female tested positive for coronavirus after traveling to virus-hit Wuhan, China, in recent days, reported ABC7 and other local news outlets. She had arrived in the United States on Jan. 23.

Health officials said the woman, who was not identified, has stayed at home since she arrived in the country and only went out to seek medical care twice. She was regularly monitored and not sick enough to be hospitalized, according to the agency.

The woman’s coronavirus case was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the health department said.

“I understand that people are concerned, but based on what we know today, the risk to general public remains low,” said Dr. Sara Cody, who is the health officer for Santa Clara County, in news conference. “A second case is not unexpected. With our large population and the amount of travel to China for both personal and business reasons, we will likely see more cases, including close contacts to our cases.”

Sunday’s confirmed case is the second case in Santa Clara and the fourth in California. The first case, a man who had also traveled to Wuhan and tested positive, was announced last Friday.

The man returned Jan. 24 to Mineta San Jose International Airport before exhibiting symptoms after getting home, according to Cody. The man never got sick enough to be hospitalized and had contact with few people, she said.

Wuhan in Hubei Province is the epicenter of the virus outbreak, but a number of new cases have apparently been reported in other parts of China, prompting officials to place lockdowns on cities outside of Hubei. Several cases of person-to-person transmission of the virus have been confirmed in Shenzhen, located near Hong Kong, over the weekend.

Also over the weekend, another U.S. case of coronavirus was confirmed in Boston, Massachusetts, said local health officials. They confirmed that he’s a student at the Boston campus of the University of Massachusetts and has been under self-isolation at his off-campus home since Jan. 29, after complaining of flu-like symptoms.

That patient had also recently traveled to Wuhan, said authorities. “We are grateful that this young man is recovering and sought medical attention immediately,’’ Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said in the statement.

So far, cases have been reported in California, Illinois, Washington state, Arizona, and Massachusetts.

The second case’s announcement came shortly the Department of Homeland Security issued rules to implement new travel restrictions starting at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday.