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CORONAVIRUS

COVID-19

Agency: 2nd U.S.case of person who got virus from community

Eugenia Kendall, right, wears a mask outside of the Vacaville City Hall while standing with her husband, Ivan, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, in Vacaville, Calif. On Wednesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a case of coronavirus in Solano County, California. It's believed to be the first case in the U.S. of someone who has not traveled abroad or been in close contact with someone who has. Eugenia Kendall says she wears a mask because her immune system has been weakened from the chemotherapy she receives for ovarian cancer. Ivan Kendall says the they are not paranoid, just being practical. (Don Thompson / AP)
By Don Thompson and Adam Beam Associated Press

VACAVILLE, Calif. – Health officials have confirmed the second case of novel coronavirus in the United States believed to have been transmitted to a person who didn’t travel internationally or come in close contact with anyone who had it.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that officials are “aware of a second possible instance of community spread of COVID-19 in California.“ The CDC said in a statement that the patient has tested positive for the virus and is considered a presumptive positive case.

Health officials in San Jose planned a Friday afternoon briefing.

Santa Clara County Public Health Department spokesman Maury Kendall said earlier that the person is isolated at home. It comes a day after state officials said a woman hospitalized at UC Davis Health Center in Sacramento had contracted the illness after no known contact.

Solano County Public Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas said public health officials have identified dozens of people – but less than 100 – who had close contact with the woman. They are quarantined in their homes. and a few who have shown symptoms are in isolation, Matyas said.