BRAZOS CO. HEALTH DISTRICT INVESTIGATING POSSIBLE CORONAVIRUS CASE IN TEXAS A&M STUDENT

  

A possible case of the deadly coronavirus is being investigated in Brazos County.

Thursday, the Brazos County Health District announced it is looking into a potential case of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in a Texas A&M University student. According to the health district, the unidentified patient recently came back to Brazos County from Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus originated.

The health district did not give a specific timeline for the patient’s travels, but did say the student went to an emergency room Wednesday night after experiencing mild symptoms. Authorities said the patient is staying at home in isolation while precautionary testing is done.

Officials did not say which hospital the patient was admitted to, but said they do not believe anyone in that emergency room was exposed. Texas A&M University officials say the immediate health risk to the campus community is low.

Samples have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta for testing, and results are expected sometime this weekend or early Monday. The health district said if this does become a confirmed case, it will be promptly announced, and a contact tracing process will begin to identify those who the student may have come in contact with during a two-week period.

Chinese authorities have moved to lock down at least five cities with a combined population of more than 22 million people, after China’s National Health Commission confirmed 830 cases of the respiratory virus, including at least 25 deaths. The only other cases in the United States are a confirmed case in a man in Washington state, and a possible case in Los Angeles.

The virus can cause flu-like symptoms including fever, cough, shortness of breath, and sore throat. More information on the virus is available from the CDC.