Coronavirus patient remains hospitalized in San Diego County

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A confirmed coronavirus patient remained hospitalized Tuesday at UC San Diego Health, while another person was under observation at the facility for possible exposure to the disease that has killed more than 1,000 people, mostly in China.

"Both patients are doing well and have minimal symptoms," UCSD Health officials said late Monday. "... UC San Diego Health has some of the nation's leading experts on infectious diseases. We are fully prepared to care for adult patients with coronavirus. We want to assure you that patient safety is our top priority."

Hospital officials insisted there is no risk of exposure to other patients or visitors to the medical center.

Federal officials on Monday confirmed that the San Diego patient had been diagnosed with the coronavirus, becoming the 13th known patient in the United States and seventh in California. Los Angeles and Orange counties each have one confirmed patient.

KGTV first reported the case, saying the patient was aboard an initial flight of 167 evacuees from the Wuhan, China, area who landed at Miramar last Wednesday. Wuhan is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

Hours after the plane landed, health officials said four of the passengers had been taken to hospitals after displaying potential symptoms of the illness — two adults to UC San Diego Health and a 4-year-old girl and an adult to Rady Children's Hospital.

The two patients taken to Rady were later cleared and returned to Miramar to continue a 14-day quarantine, but another person from the flight was hospitalized the following day at UCSD for observation.

On Friday, a second plane carrying 65 people from Wuhan arrived at Miramar, and two of them were later hospitalized for observation, authorities said. One adult was taken to UCSD Health and a child was taken to Rady Children's Hospital.

More than 1,000 deaths from the coronavirus have been reported, all but two of them in China. More than 43,000 cases of the illness have been reported worldwide, the vast majority of them in China.

Nearly 200 Americans arrived at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside on Jan. 29 and are quarantined there after being evacuated from Wuhan. That quarantine period ended Tuesday morning, with none of them showing any signs of the disease.