EpidemicsFour States Report More COVID-19 Cases; Silent Washington Spread Suspected
Saturday night and so far yesterday, four states have reported more COVID-19 cases, including two more in Washington state, where a new gene finding is fueling concerns that the virus may have been circulating in the community for as long as 6 weeks. Also, Rhode Island reported its first case, California’s Santa Clara County reported another, and Illinois’ Cook County reported a presumed positive, raising the number of cases detected by the nation’s public health system to 27.
Saturday night and so far yesterday, four states have reported more COVID-19 cases, including two more in Washington state, where a new gene finding is fueling concerns that the virus may have been circulating in the community for as long as 6 weeks.
Also, Rhode Island reported its first case, California’s Santa Clara County reported another, and Illinois’ Cook County reported a presumed positive, raising the number of cases detected by the nation’s public health system to 27.
Testing Likely to Unmask More Community Spread
Public health experts expect US cases of the novel coronavirus to increase quickly in the days and weeks ahead, now that state public health labs are able to test for the virus and with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sending out more test kits.
A lengthy delay with the CDC-developed test kit had hobbled state testing for the virus until late last week, which, along with a narrow case definition, tied public health’s hands for casting a wider net for the virus, which is known to spread easily in the community.
Also, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, announced last night on Twitter that the FDA has granted an emergency use authorization to COVID-19 virus diagnostic tests developed by two public health laboratories in New York City.
On Face the Nation yesterday, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, said in 2 weeks, the US will able to test nearly 20,000 samples a day.
Gene Analysis Points to Silent Washington Spread
CIDRAP reports that meanwhile, the gene sequence from a Snohomish County, Washington, high school boy whose illness was announced on Feb 28 as a community spread case has already been uploaded to a public database, and an early analysis hints that it is related to a Snohomish County case reported in January, suggesting that transmission has been underway in Washington state for the last 6 weeks.
The earlier case was a man in his 30s, the first to be detected in the United States. The Snohomish County man had traveled to Wuhan at a time when there were only 300 cases in China. He was seen at a clinic, where his specimens were collected and sent to the CDC. After his COVID-19 infection as confirmed, he was taken to Providence Regional Medical Center for treatment.
