There are now 2 confirmed cases of the Novel Coronavirus 2019 in the United States. The newest patients has been identified as a Chicago woman in her 60s who visited China and returned on January 13.

Since the virus has an incubation period of about 4-5 days, she did not show symptoms until four days after returning to the U.S.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention shared the confirmation of the case via Twitter around 2 p.m. on Friday, January 24.

A second travel-related case of novel #coronavirus (#2019nCoV) has been confirmed in the US. CDC expects more cases in the coming days. CDC is taking aggressive public health measures to help protect the health of Americans. https://t.co/4LCdPwHizU pic.twitter.com/L9Owt5z500

— CDC (@CDCgov) January 24, 2020

The CDC has determined that the virus can spread through person-to-person contact, though it originated in animals and was able to mutate enough to jump species and infect humans. The virus presents flu-like symptoms and can bring on pneumonia.

At this time, hundreds of people have been diagnosed and it expected even more will be diagnosed in the coming days as symptoms begin showing. Older adults with underlying health conditions are most at risk, according to the CDC.

In an announcement, the CDC advised the public to refrain from travel to Wuhan, China. Today, the city and others in China have gone on lock-down.

__

For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact editor@unfspinnaker.com.