Eighth U.S. case of new coronavirus reported in Massachusetts

On Saturday, officials told about the eighth U.S. case of the Wuhan coronavirus that was detected in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Department of Health stated in a press briefing that a 20-year-old man who had just come back from China and lived in Boston tested positive.
The infected man, who was not named, had travelled to Wuhan, where the virus emerged.

“We’re grateful that this young man is improving and sought medical attention instantly,” said Dr Monica Bharel, Public Health Commissioner of Massachusetts. She added that the city has been readying for a likely case of this new coronavirus and that we were lucky that smart clinicians took appropriate measures quickly.

It was the first confirmed coronavirus case in Massachusetts. Officials expressed that the risk to people living in the state stayed low. Some of the prior cases in the U.S. were reported in California, Arizona, Illinois, and Washington State.

The outbreak has reached more than 20 countries, but the overwhelming abundance of cases have been from mainland China.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump said on Friday that the new coronavirus was a public health emergency in the United States and imposed new travel restrictions between China and the U.S.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar stated that the U.S. would cancel entry for foreign nationals who have visited China during the past two weeks, except for the immediate family of U.S. citizens.

Over 12,000 cases of new coronavirus have been seen globally, with the death toll reaching over 259 as of Saturday morning.

Massachusetts health authorities announced they were operating closely with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to contain any further risk of the virus outbreak.