What you need to know about coronavirus? US confirmed 1st case ...

What is coronavirus and how does it spread? Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses ranging from the common cold to much more serious diseases, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, which can infect both humans and animals, according to the World Health Organization. China has confirmed that the new strain is being transmitted between humans. Here’s what we know so far about the virus.

The U.S., along with Thailand, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea have all confirmed cases of the infection, which began last month in central China.

In China, health authorities imposed a quasi-quarantine on Wuhan, home to 11 million people. They did so in part because the Lunar New Year in late January is a time when people travel to their home towns and abroad. Chinese authorities are also screening passengers at airports for coronavirus symptoms. Other airports in Asia are doing the same.

First case in the U.S. is confirmed: A man in Washington state has been diagnosed with the virus after returning from the Wuhan region in mid-January. He’s stable but is being monitored as a cautionary measure, officials said.

U.S. Health officials are screening travelers arriving from Wuhan to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York’s JFK. They will soon be screening travelers arriving from Wuhan at Chicago O’Hare and Atlanta international airports. And in the coming days, all flights from Wuhan to the United States will be redirected so their first port of entry is one of those five airports.

What do you want to know? Submit a question about coronavirus to Washington Post reporters.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/01/21/coronavirus-us-case/