by Leah Jessen
Health officials confirmed a second U.S. case of a coronavirus as China locked down more cities near the epicenter of the outbreak Friday.
An unidentified patient in Illinois has the respiratory illness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday. The Chicago woman in her 60s came home from a trip in Wuhan, China, on Jan. 13.
Today, @CDCgov confirmed a 2nd #2019nCoV (#coronavirus) infection detected in the US. Based on what we know right now, the immediate risk to America remains low. Learn more: https://t.co/RHkXpju0fC
— Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH (@CDCDirector) January 24, 2020
“Based on what we know right now, the immediate risk to America remains low,” CDC Director Robert Redfield tweeted Friday.
A second travel-related case of novel #coronavirus (#2019nCoV) has been confirmed in the US. CDC expects more cases in the coming days. CDC is taking aggressive public health measures to help protect the health of Americans. https://t.co/4LCdPwHizU pic.twitter.com/L9Owt5z500
— CDC (@CDCgov) January 24, 2020
Meanwhile, Chinese authorities are restricting travel in 12 cities, The New York Times reported. Around 35 million people are under travel restrictions ahead of Saturday’s Lunar New Year.
The virus first cropped up in Wuhan in December 2019. More than 900 people are infected and 26 have died from the outbreak, Chinese officials said.
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Leah Jessen is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
