SANTA CLARA COUNTY (KRON) — The Santa Clara County Health Department confirmed a man has tested positive for the coronavirus.
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This is the first case in the county and the first known case in the Bay Area.
The Santa Clara County Health Department held a press conference at 2 p.m. in San Jose to provide more information on the case.
The patient is a resident in Santa Clara County, the health department said.
The patient had traveled to Wuhan, China and traveled home on Jan. 24.
He arrived home to the San Jose airport.
He has not left his home and has had very few contacts since his return, a county official said.
The county said he came into contact with “very few” people since returning to the U.S. from China and has been “self-isolating.”
The county assured the case does not heighten the risk of coronavirus to the general public in Santa Clara County.
This is the third case of coronavirus in California.
The announcement came shortly after the U.S. declared a public health emergency because of the new virus.
The virus’ epicenter is Wuhan, China — but it has since spread to other countries worldwide.
Nearly 10,000 people have been infected with the disease worldwide in just two months.
On Thursday, the World Health Organization declared a global emergency because of the outbreak.
According to latest information from the Associated Press, the virus has claimed the lives of 213 people in China.
About 200 Americans who have been evacuated from China due to the coronavirus are being quarantined at a Southern California military base.
The CDC says those patients will spend two weeks on the base.
This is the first federal quarantine in the U.S. since the 1960s.
The last such quarantine was due to smallpox.
As of earlier in the day Friday, none of the people being held at the Southern California base showed signs of the illness.
This is developing, check back for updates.
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