NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Another case of the coronavirus has been reported in the United States, this time in Chicago, health officials said Friday morning.
A 60-year-old woman who returned from Wuhan, China, on Jan. 13 began to experience symptoms a few days later, said Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady.
Wuhan is the epicenter of the outbreak. Health officials said the woman traveled there in late December before her return to Illinois earlier this month.
"A few days after arriving home, she began to feel unwell," Arwady said.
The woman was admitted to an area hospital and placed in isolation, according to health officials, who said testing confirmed she had the virus.
Officials said the woman hadn't used public transportation or been to any large gatherings since returning to the Chicago area. They said people who had close contact with her are being monitored.
Arwady said the woman is “doing well and in stable condition.”
At least 63 people in 22 states are being monitored for the coronavirus after showing symptoms, officials said Friday.
The other confirmed U.S. case was reported in a 30-something-year-old man in Washington State earlier this week. Officials said they’re monitoring 43 people he had contact with.
Mayor Bill de Blasio was meeting Friday with health and emergency officials to discuss the city's plan to stop any potential cases of the virus from spreading.
In New Jersey, Hackensack Medical Center said late Thursday that a patient that initially thought might have the coronavirus does not have the disease.
Many countries are screening travelers from China and isolating anyone with symptoms. John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens is among the airports screening passengers.
New Jersey Sens. Cory Booker and Bob Menendez want Newark International Airport to screen passengers too.
WHAT ELSE TO KNOW:
Hundreds of cases of a new viral respiratory illness have been confirmed in China and elsewhere since an outbreak began last month in Wuhan.
Scientists have identified the illness as a new kind of coronavirus. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which cause the common cold. Others have evolved into more severe illnesses, such as SARS and MERS, although so far the new virus does not appear to be nearly as deadly or contagious.
— The number of confirmed cases rose to 830. Twenty-six people have died, including the first two deaths outside Hubei.
— After Wuhan halted all outbound flights, trains, buses and ferries on Thursday, 12 other cities in the central province of Hubei followed suit, with a combined population of more than 36 million now under lockdown.
— Wuhan is swiftly building a 1,000-bed hospital dedicated to the disease. The prefabricated structure, slated for completion Feb. 3, is modeled after the Xiaotangshan SARS hospital in Beijing. The SARS hospital was built from scratch in 2003 and featured individual isolation units that looked like rows of tiny cabins.
—- The new virus claimed its youngest victim. A 36-year-old man in Hubei was admitted to the hospital earlier this month after suffering from fever for three days. He died following a sudden cardiac arrest on Jan. 23.
— South Korea and Japan both detected their second cases, and Singapore two more for a total of three.
— Hospitals in Wuhan are grappling with a flood of patients and a lack of supplies. At least eight hospitals in Wuhan issued public calls for donations of masks, goggles, gowns and other protective medical gear, according to notices online.
— The coronavirus has made its way into the human population via animals—officials believe it was spread in Huanan Seafood Market, a market that sells wild animals in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Humans do not have immunity to the disease.