With news of an infected patient who have neither travelled nor been in contact with an infected person, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is telling Americans that they should be prepared for the possibility of a COVID-19 outbreak in their community.
What does it mean to be prepared?
The CDC confirmed it is investigating what could be the first case of coronavirus transmission in the United States involving a patient in California who neither recently traveled out of the country nor was in contact with someone who has the virus. This means that the virus has possibly started to spread within communities and could be the beginnings of an outbreak.
“At this time, the patient’s exposure is unknown. It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement. “Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. It’s also possible, however, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected.”
The patient resides in Solano County and is receiving medical care in Sacramento County, according to the state Department of Public Health.