Over 600 People Quarantined in the USA
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed another novel coronavirus infection in California. This person increases the total number of COVID-19 cases in the USA to 14.
This new COVID-19 patient is among a group of people currently under a federal quarantine order at the Mirimar Marine Corps Air Station because of their return to the USA on a State Department-chartered flight.
This patient, and 2 others, were transferred to UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest for treatment.
Two have tested positive for COVID-19. The 3rd person is considered “a patient under investigation” because that person has developed symptoms of the disease, reported Kaiser.
According to a statement by the CDC on-site team lead Dr. Chris Braden, “At this time there is no indication of the person-to-person spread of this virus at the quarantine facility.”
“But, the CDC will carry out a thorough contact investigation as part of its current response strategy to detect and contain any cases of infection with this virus.”
As of February 13, 2020, the state of California has reported 8 of these 14 coronavirus infections during 2020.
Anyone who visited Hubei Province during 2020 is considered at high risk of having been exposed to the COVID-19 and could be subject to a temporary 14-day quarantine.
The CDC disclosed that more than 600 people who returned from China this year remain under federal quarantine.
The CDC notified visitors to China of their potential health risk in a Level 2 Travel Alert, issued on January 22, 2020.
This Travel Alert said ‘Travelers from China arriving in the USA could be asked questions about their health and travel history upon arrival and may undergo health screening.’
‘Arriving travelers with signs and symptoms of illness will have additional health assessments and could be ‘quarantined’ during the evaluation process.’
“The investigations into this novel coronavirus are ongoing and we are monitoring and responding to this evolving situation,” said Martin Cetron, M.D., Director of CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, in a related statement.
Entry screening is part of a layered approach to detect arriving travelers who are sick, such as the detection and reporting of ill travelers by airlines during travel and the referral of ill travelers to the relevant US agency.
On February 10, 2020, the US Defense Department announced the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would be able to use of 9 additional military bases in the USA as quarantine facilities.
According to statements by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, these military bases could house additional passengers coming from China.
Furthermore, the US military and DoD personnel cannot be in direct contact with evacuees.
The HHS Department continues to be responsible for all care, transportation, and security of these evacuees.
Previously, the WHO’s Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced his decision on the determination of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
During the meeting on January 30th, the Director-General declared that the COVID-19 outbreak constitutes a PHEIC and issued this advice as Temporary Recommendations under the IHR (2005).
This is only the 6th time ever the WHO has declared a global health emergency.
The WHO said ‘it is expected that further international exportation of cases may appear in any country.’
‘Thus, all countries should be prepared for containment, including active surveillance, early detection, isolation and case management, contact tracing and prevention.’
This, and other WHO announcements, continue to highlight the lack of authorized preventive vaccines or medications to treat the COVID-19 disease.
COVID-19 outbreak news is published by Coronavirus Today.