Health officials in Washington, Oregon and California on Friday reported new cases of coronavirus among people who have not traveled recently to countries hit hard by the outbreak or come into contact with anyone known to have the disease.
The Washington State Department of Health announced late Friday that a high school student in Snohomish County, just north of Seattle, tested positive for the deadly virus and was in home isolation. The student had not recently traveled to areas where the disease had spread, indicating it may be a case of community transmission.
Washington health officials also said a woman in her 50s in King County tested positive after traveling to Daegu, South Korea, the site of a major coronavirus outbreak. She, too, is in home isolation. Both cases in Washington were “presumptive positives,” officials said, meaning they were awaiting confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Earlier Friday, Oregon health officials reported a presumptive positive diagnosis in a resident in Washington County with no known travel history or contact with infected individuals. California also reported a second case of community transmission, in Santa Clara County, after reporting the nation’s first such case, in Solano County, earlier in the week.
The four new cases reported Friday bring the total number of covid-19 cases detected through the U.S. public health system to 19, according to the CDC.
Here are the latest developments:
China reported its lowest manufacturing numbers on record for the month of February, as the epidemic-stricken economy ground to an unprecedented standstill.
Coronavirus panic tightened its grip on global markets Friday as the escalating outbreak drove stocks to their worst weekly loss since the 2008 financial crisis and prompted the Federal Reserve to take the unusual step of issuing a statement to reassure Americans.
Major companies are beginning to cancel conferences and travel plans within the United States due to the coronavirus, which analysts warn will have cascading impacts on the country’s hotels, airlines and convention centers.
The first confirmed case of coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa has emerged in Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country and biggest economy, sparking fears the contagion could spread quickly and stymie business.
Mapping the spread of the coronavirus | What you need to know about the virus | How to prepare for coronavirus in the U.S. (Spoiler: Not sick? No need to wear a mask.)
1:08 a.m.
Saudi Arabia tells citizens not to travel to Lebanon
BAGHDAD — Saudi Arabia urged citizens Saturday not to travel to Lebanon, after the number of confirmed coronavirus edged steadily upward.
In a statement, the Saudi Embassy in Beirut asked Saudi nationals to postpone non-urgent travel and, if in Lebanon, stay away from crowded places, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Lebanon confirmed its fourth coronavirus on Friday, with Beirut’s Rafik Hariri Hospital describing the individual as a Syrian national, now in quarantine. It was unclear whether she had recently traveled to China or Iran, where many other cases appear to have been contracted.
Lebanon is in the throes of its worst economic crisis since its civil war and the downturn has hit the health care system hard. As foreign reserves evaporate, doctors have staged sit-ins at hospitals to warn that lifesaving medicines are in short supply. Health care professionals have also pointed to an increasing shortage of medical equipment.
The Lebanese government has been slow to react to the spread of coronavirus, only stopping flights from affected countries on Friday, a week after the first case was confirmed there. Shortly afterward, Lebanon’s education ministry announced Friday that it would close all universities and schools until March 8, as a precautionary measure.
“In the interest of the health of students and their families … the minister of education Dr. Tarek Majzoub requests all educational institutions including kindergartens, schools, high schools, vocational institutions and universities to close,” the education ministry said in a statement.
KISS NEWS 