Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) – The test results are back from the Centers for Disease Control for two of the three people in Virginia who exhibited possible symptoms of Coronavirus. The Virginia Department of Health said two people in central Virginia tested negative for the virus. The results for the person in Northern Virginia are expected to come back later this week according to state epidemiologist Dr. Lilian Peake. At this point, there are no confirmed cases of the virus in Virginia according to Peake.
The third person may be a student from George Mason University who recently returned from China. The university sent a letter to the community acknowledging reports that it is one of their students but did not confirm the reports.
The university urged people to take precautions since other members of the Mason community and residents of Northern Virginia may have also traveled to China recently. The outbreak started in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The letter urged anyone exhibiting symptoms of the virus – which include fever, cough and trouble breathing – to follow VDH guidelines and call the doctor’s office to speak to a medical professional before going to get checked out.
Since the symptoms are similar to those of the common cold, Peake said if you get them and have traveled to Wuhan or been around somebody who has, you should call a doctor.
Peake said the virus – which has now sickened more than 2,700 people and killed at least 80 according to the National Health Commission of China – is new, and they’re still not sure how it’s spread. Other viruses in the same family including SARS and MERS were spread when someone coughed or sneezed on someone.
“So that’s a possibility, but we are really learning about this, and we don’t know everything about this virus at this point,” Peake said.
Peake added they have experience responding to outbreaks in the past and are investigating infectious diseases daily.
The VDH has set up a website to keep people updated on the Coronavirus.
Copyright 2020 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. Photo: AP
