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13th American diagnosed with coronavirus as death toll in China continues to rise

4 years 10 months 1 week ago Tuesday, February 11 2020 Feb 11, 2020 February 11, 2020 5:15 AM February 11, 2020 in News
Source: ABC News
Health workers gather outside Hong Mei House in Hong Kong on Monday, after coronavirus cases were confirmed at the residential complex. Photo: Jerome Favre/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

A 13th American was diagnosed with coronavirus, Monday.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson told ABC News the American who tested positive for coronavirus was in San Diego.

The patient arrived from China on the first evacuation flight to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. The flight landed at the military base on Feb. 5 and the passengers were supposed to be quarantined for two weeks. 

Four patients who'd been under observation, and who'd previously tested negative, were retested on Monday morning and that's when this additional case of coronavirus was confirmed- one of the four who'd been quarantined now tests positive.

A second patient taken to UC San Diego Health still has test results pending.  Both patients were "doing well and have minimal symptoms." 

In another concerning incident related to the virus, 23 Americans aboard a cruise ship called Diamond Princess tested positive for the virus.

The cruise ship has been quarantined at sea in the Japanese port of Yokohama since arriving there on February 3. 

All those infected with the virus have been brought ashore for treatment, while the other passengers remain confined to their rooms on board until the quarantine period ends.   

As these new diagnoses were made in America and aboard the cruise ship, the virus continued to spread in China, now killing more than a thousand people.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says this novel coronavirus, which was first reported in Wuhan, China, has been officially named '2019-nCoV.'

Click here for information from the WHO on how to avoid contracting 2019-nCoV.  

On Tuesday, the Chinese National Health Commission reported that 1,016 people have died from the disease in China, with the death toll surpassing 100 in just one day.

There were a total of 108 deaths on Monday, including 103 in Hubei province, where the newly identified virus first emerged. 

The WHO says a total of 42,638 people have been infected in China, including 12 new cases in the past day.

At least 319 people in 24 countries outside of China have contracted the novel coronavirus.

So far, only one patient has died outside of China, a 44-year-old man in the Philippines, which puts the global death toll at 1,017.

The WHO has declared the outbreak a global health emergency. 

The Chinese city of Wuhan is labeled as the epicenter of the illness. The first U.S. citizen to die after being diagnosed with the virus was a 60-year-old American man who was being treated at a Wuhan hospital. He passed away last week. 

A number of Americans have been evacuated from China and the outbreak has caused several major U.S. airlines to suspend all flights to the country. 

During a "Keep America Great" rally at Southern New Hampshire University Arena on Monday, President Trump addressed concerns related to the spread of coronavirus. 

He suggested that once the weather warms up, coronavirus would miraculously disappear. 

"I think it's all gonna work out fine," The President said. "Rough stuff, rough stuff." 

Mr. Trump repeated that claim during a speech to governors at the White House earlier on Monday, telling the group Chinese officials gave him the confidence that the outbreak would subside in Apri due to 'the heat.' 

“The heat generally speaking kills this kind of virus,” he said.

Watch the video below, provided by the World Health Organization, for basic facts about coronavirus. 

   

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