New US virus case may be 1st from unknown origin

A new coronavirus case in California could be the first in the U.S. that has no known connection to travel abroad or another known case, a possible sign the virus is spreading in a U.S. community, health officials said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the case Wednesday.

California officials said the person is a resident of Solano County, northeast of San Francisco, and is getting medical care in Sacramento County.

They said they have begun the process of tracking down people who the patient has been in contact with, a process known as contact tracing.

The patient was brought to UC Davis Medical Center from another Northern California hospital on Feb. 19 but it was four days before the CDC heeded a request to test the patient for COVID-19, according to an email sent to employees Wednesday by the hospital’s interim CEO, Brad Simmons, and David Lubarsky, CEO of UC Davis Health.

The patient arrived on a ventilator and special protection orders were issued “because of an undiagnosed and suspected viral condition,” according to the email, which was sent to employees.

The hospital asked the CDC to test for the coronavirus but testing was delayed until Sunday “since the patient did not fit the existing CDC criteria for COVID-19,” the email said.

The hospital, which has treated other coronavirus patients, has been taking infection prevention precautions since the patient arrived.

All of the 59 other cases in the U.S. had traveled from abroad or had been in close contact with those who traveled.

Health officials have been on high alert for so-called community spread.