CDC Says ‘Expect Additional COVID-19 Cases'

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported 60 cases of COVID-19 disease from 12 states.

Twenty-two of these cases are travel-related; 11 are believed to be person-to-person spread; and for the remaining 27, the source of exposure is still under investigation, reported the CDC at noon on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.

The CDC says ‘it expects additional instances of person-to-person spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in the coming days and weeks.’

The 12 states that have reported cases include Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.

States reporting SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19, are listed below:

• Florida - announced its 3rd presumptive positive case of COVID-19.
• Georgia - announced its 2nd confirmed case of COVID-19.
• New Hampshire - also reported its first presumptive positive case of COVID-19 in a person with recent travel history to Italy.
• New York - announced its first case of COVID-19 in a person with recent travel history to Iran.
• Rhode Island - announced its first presumptive positive case of COVID-19 in a person with recent travel history to Italy.
• Washington - has announced 9 COVID-19 deaths.

As the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to expand and as testing capacity in the U.S. increases, CDC expects more cases to be detected across the country, including more instances of person-to-person spread in more states. Information so far suggests that most COVID-19 illness is mild.

But, older people and people with certain underlying health conditions like heart disease, lung disease, and diabetes, for example, seem to be at greater risk of serious illness.

The US federal government has been working closely with state, local, tribal, and territorial partners, as well as public health partners, to prepare for and respond to this public health emergency.

Cases reported to CDC include those confirmed by CDC as well as presumptive positive cases reported by states. A presumptive positive result is when a patient has tested positive by a public health laboratory, but results are pending confirmation at CDC.

For public health purposes, a presumptive positive result using the CDC test is treated as a positive.

States are reporting results quickly and in the event of a discrepancy between CDC and state case counts, the state case counts should always be considered more up-to-date.

SARS-CoV-2 outbreak news published by Coronavirus Today.