2 More Coronavirus Cases In Santa Cruz County

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Santa Cruz County confirmed late Wednesday afternoon two additional cases of the new coronavirus.

A third case was confirmed Tuesday evening in a patient who is isolated, hospitalized and recovering in another county, the county said in a statement. Public health officials are still investigating how the patient was sickened, but don't think the patient picked up coronavirus in the community.

On Wednesday a person at Rio Del Mar Elementary School in Aptos tested positive. The patient is stable and the county is investigating how the patient contracted the virus, the county said. County health officials are working with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District.

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The school is being deep-cleaned and will be be closed until March 16, KSBW reported.

Nobody else has tested positive, the district said.

The first patient in the county was confirmed Sunday after Friday night test results confirmed the patient was positive. The resident, whose identity and hometown were not released, had traveled on the Grand Princess from San Francisco to Mexico from Feb. 11-21.

The second confirmed patient's test came back positive Sunday and public health officials determined the person was sickened while on a trip to Seattle, before returning home on a flight, the county said in a statement. Officials are investigating and trying to notify contacts and people who could have been exposed.

"Unfortunately, this new case confirms that COVID-19 is present in our community and is not an isolated case," said county Health Officer Gail Newel this week. "I urge all community members to take steps to protect themselves and their families."

The county said it expects more cases to be confirmed as testing becomes more widely available in the coming days.

Last week Newel issued a Local Health Emergency for the new coronavirus due to concerns about its spread in neighboring counties and a need to prepare for a potential outbreak.

Anyone with concerns about their health should contact their doctor or call 211 to find a local clinic. The county encourages the public to visit santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus for local updates and links to important CDC updates.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Wednesday to provide additional resources, prevent price gouging and help the state better prepare for the virus's spread.

The emergency declaration followed the first known coronavirus-related death in California — an elderly Placer County resident who was exposed to the virus on a Grand Princess cruise Feb. 11-21 from San Francisco to Mexico and back.

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. Ninety-nine cases have been reported across 13 states, with 10 U.S. deaths confirmed, according to a Thursday CDC update.

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.

Read more about the coronavirus outbreak here on the CDC website.

— Bay City News Service contributed to this report

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.