4 new coronavirus cases confirmed in LA County
One of the four additional cases of coronavirus confirmed in Los Angeles County by public health officials on Thursday, March 5, was a middle aged male patient being treated at Providence Tarzana Medical Center, according to a relative who spoke to CBS2-TV.
In a video interview, Pam Angel said her husband and two adult sons exhibited symptoms of COVID-19 just days into a group ski trip in Italy. They tested positive for the virus upon arrival at LAX, she said. She had apparently tested negative.
“It had been aired that it was over in Asia, China, but it wasn’t being aired that it was anywhere else,” she said, noting that her 50-year-old son at the San Fernando Valley hospital has underlying health issues. “He can’t talk without coughing. He feels like he has a pallet of bricks on his chest. He’s not eating.”
Tarzana woman confirms her husband, 75, and two sons, 49 and 50, have all tested positive for #coronavirus after ski trip to Italy. Her husband and youngest son are self-quarantined. Her other son Cory, 50, is being treated at Providence Tarzana Medical Center. @NBCLA #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/snOMGwIZjV
— Jonathan Gonzalez (@JonathanNBCLA) March 5, 2020
Hospital staff told Angel her son would be released soon, CBS2 reported. She added that her husband and other son are under self-quarantine.
Providence spokesperson Patricia Aidem said the hospital will not confirm whether it has patients nor discuss their conditions.
All of the county’s total 11 coronavirus patients have been isolated, and health officials said they have identified people who were in close personal contact with the patients to assess and monitor them. All of the close contacts are under quarantine.
“There are no known significant exposures to the general public,” according to the health department.
On Wednesday, the county confirmed six other cases of the virus, known as COVID-19. Three of those people were in the same group of travelers as the patients confirmed with the virus Thursday. Two others were relatives of another confirmed patient who lives outside the county, and the last case “is a person whose job at the time exposed them to travelers from other countries who may have been infectious.”
County health officials later confirmed that the job-related patient was a contract worker who was conducting medical screenings of passengers at Los Angeles International Airport. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement Wednesday saying the person is a “medical professional” who was screening passengers for coronavirus at LAX had tested positive for the illness.
“This individual is currently under self-quarantine at home with mild symptoms and under medical supervision,” according to a DHS statement to NBC News, which first reported the case. “Their immediate family is also under home quarantine.”
DHS officials said the person last performed screenings at the airport on Feb. 21. County sources said that was seven days before the worker showed any symptoms of the virus, and there is no concern the person may have transmitted the disease to any airport passengers.
The county’s first patient confirmed with the coronavirus was diagnosed weeks ago and has since recovered.