Coronavirus: 2 San Francisco Cases Of Community Spread

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — San Francisco has its first two cases of novel coronavirus, COVID-19, with both cases apparently contracted here in San Francisco, the City announced on Thursday.

One patient is a man in his 90s with underlying health conditions, who is hospitalized in serious condition.

The other is a woman in her 40s, at another hospital in fair condition.

"All appropriate precautions for the patient, visitors, and hospital staff are being taken," according to the Department of Public Health, through a city press release. "DPH informed the patients’ families this morning, and is investigating the patients’ history and contacts to protect the health of individuals and help slow the spread of the virus in the community."

The patients names will not be released because of patient privacy, and the hospitals will not be identified by the city.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health began testing for cases of novel coronavirus on Monday, and continues conducting tests locally in cases that meet the CDC criteria. Tests on both of the hospitalized patients were done in San Francisco.

“Confirming cases of COVID-19 in San Francisco residents unfortunately does not come as a surprise,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, director of health. “Given the patterns of the virus in the Bay Area, California and the country, San Francisco has been preparing for the appearance of COVID-19 in the community for many weeks. Last week, the City declared a local emergency to boost our preparedness in anticipation of confirmed cases and community spread of the virus.

"The people who are sick are getting care by health care professionals. We do not know at this point how they were exposed to the virus, which suggests it is spreading in the community. We expected that to happen and are further investigating the circumstances of these patients’ exposure.”

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

“We want everyone to remain calm and continue taking precautions to keep themselves and their families healthy,” said Mayor Breed. “We have been increasing resources and staffing to prepare for the community spread of this virus, and we will do everything we can to protect public health. The City is in regular contact with all hospitals and health facilities in San Francisco, and our health system is prepared to deliver care to everyone in need and provide a coordinated response as additional cases of the novel coronavirus are confirmed.”

According to a count by Johns Hopkins the U.S. has 177 cases of COVID-19, and the number of cases around the world is approaching 100,000, with the majority in China.

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