FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - Officials in Virginia believe they have discovered a second case of coronavirus in the state.
The second presumptive positive case involves a resident of the City of Fairfax in their 80s who had traveled on a Nile River cruise, the Virginia Department of Health said in a news release Sunday morning. The patient began showing symptoms of respiratory illness Feb. 28 and was hospitalized Thursday in stable condition, officials said.
“Fortunately, the individual had limited contact with others while ill, and therefore the risk to the general Fairfax community remains low,” county health director Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensa said during a news conference.
Virginia recorded its first case Saturday when a U.S. Marine being treated at Fort Belvoir was found to have the virus.
Virginia state epidemiologist Dr. Lilian Peake said that the two cases are not related.
“At this point, there are no signs of the virus spreading in the community in Virginia,” Peake said.
___
This story has been corrected to show the U.S. Marine is being treated at Fort Belvoir.
___
The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
___
Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
Please read our comment policy before commenting.