A man about whom nothing is yet known besides the fact that he lives in Santa Clara County has tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus. His is the third case to appear in California, and the first in the Bay Area.
The numbers with this virus are changing rapidly, with the total death toll having crossed 200 in the last day or so, and the total number of infected people now standing at around 10,000 worldwide — with the vast majority of those still confined to China.
As the Chronicle reports, the Santa Clara County man's infection was confirmed today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which also earlier today ordered the mandatory 14-day quarantine of 195 Americans who were evacuated from Wuhan, China this week. Those people are being sequestered and regularly monitored for symptoms at a military base in Riverside.
President Trump on Friday issued a temporary ban on allowing foreign nationals into the country if they've recently been to China. And starting February 2, all U.S. citizens entering the country who have been to the Hubei province of China will be quarantined for up to 14 days.
Also today, three major U.S. air carriers, United, Delta, and American, all suspended flights in and out of China for as long as the next three months.
The other two California cases so far have been in Orange and Los Angeles counties, and the Santa Clara County case brings the confirmed U.S. total to seven. Test results are still pending on an additional 121 possible coronavirus cases across the country. So far, all but one of the American cases happened to people who had recently traveled to China.
It's not yet known how the Bay Area man contracted the virus, or where he is now.
As the CDC says, though there has been the one human-to-human transmission of the virus in Chicago, this virus is not currently spreading within the U.S.
Update: The man reportedly arrived at San Jose Mineta Airport on January 24 after traveling to China, and did not exhibit severe symptoms before testing positive for the virus.