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Transcript of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Response

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Earlier this week we were notified by our local health department partners of a Chicago resident who had returned from Wuhan on January 13.  The individual did not have symptoms while travelling.

More recently, the individual began experiencing symptoms, called healthcare providers and ultimately was admitted to the hospital and placed in isolation.  As the patient did in this case, we ask that any individuals who begin experiencing symptoms and...

have recently traveled to Wuhan or had contact with someone diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, call their healthcare provider or hospital before seeking treatments so that the appropriate infection control measures can be put in place. 

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This is Dr. Allison Arwady, the Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.  The patient is a woman in her 60s and a Chicago resident.  Most importantly, I am pleased to report she’s clinically doing well and is in stable condition.

She traveled to Wuhan, China in late December and returned to the U.S. on January 13.  A few days after arriving home, the patient began to feel unwell.  As you heard, she called ahead to alert her doctor to her illness.

The doctor appropriately asked about travel history and quickly put a mask on the patient helping to limit the potential risk of spreading infection.  Her doctor then referred her directly to a hospital with infection control capabilities for further work up.

Hospital staff placed her in the appropriate vetting for infection control, performed a full clinical work up, and worked with public health to arrange testing for novel coronavirus at CDC.

The patient is clinically doing well, currently in stable condition and remains hospitalized primarily for infection control.  The patient has been very helpful as we have been gathering information about her contacts in recent days.

Again, she was not symptomatic when flying, and based on what we know now about this virus, our concern for transmission before symptoms developed is low.  So that is reassuring.  She has limited close contacts, all of whom are currently well, and will be monitored for symptoms.

Since returning from China, the patient has had limited movement outside her home.  Now that the test is positive, we will be continuing to collect and confirm information on her activities and contacts.

But we know already for example that she had not taken public transportation or attended any large gathering.  And actually, to our best knowledge at this point, she has not had extended close contact with anyone outside her home since returning from China.

This is all very reassuring in terms of infection risk to the general public which remains low nationally and locally here in Chicago.

. . .

To date, we have 63 of what we are calling patients under investigation or PUIs from 22 states.  So far, only two have been confirmed positive and 11 tested negative.  We anticipate by next week we’ll begin regular reporting of case information on our website.

There are likely to be many more PUIs identified in the coming days.  We have faced similar public health challenges before.  Those outbreaks were complex and required a comprehensive public health response.

This is what we are preparing for.  We have an aggressive response with the goal of identifying potential cases early. We want to make sure these patients get the best and most appropriate care.

This is a rapidly changing situation both abroad and domestically, and we are still learning.  Let’s remember this virus is identified within the past month and there is much we don’t know yet.

We are expecting more cases in the U.S., and we are likely going to see some cases among close contacts of travelers and human to human transmission.  Our goal is always to protect the health of Americans.  We at CDC have our best people working on this problem.

We have support across the entirety of the Federal Government.  We have one of the strongest public health systems in the world.

Again, while there are many unknowns, CDC believes that the immediate risk to the American public continues to be low at this time, but that the situation continues to evolve rapidly.