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| A woman who tested positive with the coronavirus is brought to the University of Nebraska Medical Center on Friday. She was transferred from Omaha's Methodist Hospital in an isolation pod inside an ambulance. Associated Press |
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Coronavirus infected Nebraska woman, 36, being taken to a bio-containment unit
Daily Mail
March 7, 2020
Category: Health News
The number of cases of coronavirus in the US has topped 400, as the outbreak spreads quickly and the death toll reaches 19.
On Saturday night, 31 states and the District of Columbia reported at least one confirmed or presumptive positive case, with those cases totaling 372. Including those infected people repatriated from abroad, and those trapped aboard the quarantined cruise ship Grand Princess off San Francisco, the total is at least 442.
Washington state had the most cases with 103, including 16 deaths, followed by New York with 89 cases and California, with 81 cases and one death. Florida, which reports 11 cases, has also seen two fatalities.
In the interior of the country, a number of more sparsely populated states reported their first cases on Saturday, including Missouri, Indiana, Minnesota and Nebraska.
In Nebraska, there were dramatic scenes as a woman who tested positive for the virus was rushed from a community hospital to the nation's leading biocontainment unit at he University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha.
The 36-year-old was photographed being transported to the facility in a hi-tech isolation pod late Friday.
The woman, who is the first person in Nebraska to test positive to coronavirus, is 'very seriously ill', according to doctors who spoke with Omaha.com Saturday.
A chest CT scan conducted yesterday showed the coronavirus is evolving into acute respiratory distress syndrome (ADRS).
The syndrome, which is characterized by a rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs, is often fatal.
People with ARDS suffer severe shortness of breath and often are unable to breathe on their own without support from a ventilator.
The woman reportedly traveled to England with her father February 18 to February 27. She began to feel ill on February 25, two days before she flew back into the United States.
Doctors say they are still trying to piece together where she went and who she had contact with in the 10 days since she arrived back from overseas.
According to doctors, her symptoms were quite mild until this Thursday, when she arrived at a local emergency room.
As her condition took a turn for the worse Friday, a decision was made to move her from Omaha's Methodist Hospital to the to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit.
Desperate to avoid contagion, the woman was place in an isolation pod, made of heavy duty plastic and complete with a dozen ports for ventilators and other tubes.
Medics donned plastic face shields, rubber gloves and rain boots as they moved her from the ambulance in a stretcher.
New York state confirmed 13 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday evening, taking the total number of residents infected to 89.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the latest spike in figures in what has been a shock day for New Yorkers, as the number of cases of the deadly disease more than doubled in the last 24 hours and a state of emergency was declared.
Cases are expected to rise higher still amid fears that 40 doctors, nurses and medical staff in a Queens hospital may have been infected by an Uber driver, after he walked into the hospital and later tested positive for the virus.
Seventy of New York state's 89 cases are based in Westchester, where a Manhattan attorney was first struck down with the virus earlier this week.
Forty-five new cases have been uncovered since Friday, with the majority related to the New Rochelle lawyer who was diagnosed as New York state's first case earlier this week.
There are seven new cases in New York City - taking the total to 11.
Disturbingly, there are also signs of wider spread, with two cases now confirmed in Saratoga County in the northeast of the state - hundreds of miles away from any other cases.
There are still thousands of New York state residents awaiting the return of coronavirus test results.
By declaring a state of emergency, Cuomo said that he is able to free up $30 million that can be used for testing and the purchase of protective gear for healthcare workers.
'I'm not urging calm," Cuomo stated. "I'm urging reality. I'm urging a factual response as opposed to an emotional response... that people understand the information and not the hype.'
He added that, at present, there is no need to cancel large gatherings in any part of the state.
Meanwhile, a Queens man who drives for taxi and ride-hailing services including Uber has now tested positive for coronavirus after showing up to St. John's Episcopal Hospital in the borough with flu-like symptoms on Tuesday.
The driver, 33, went home and returned later when his symptoms worsened, officials said.
Tests came back Friday night confirming he had coronavirus.
The situation has prompted 40 doctors, nurses and hospital staff to go into self-quarantine amid fears they have now been exposed. The man is now in isolation at the hospital.
Investigators are now trying to piece together who he might have driven around in a bid to contain a possible spread.
A Marine stationed in northern Virginia has become the first U.S. service member on American soil to test positive for coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.
'A U.S Marine assigned to Fort Belvoir, VA tested positive today for COVID-19 and is currently being treated at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital,' the Pentagon said in a statement on Saturday.
The Marine had recently returned from overseas where he was on 'official business', according to the Pentagon.
Defense Secretary Mark Secretary Esper and the White House have been briefed.
Fort Belvoir is the home to numerous significant military organizations, including the Defense Logistics Agency, the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command, and the Military District of Washington's 12th Aviation Battalion, which provides rotary-wing movement to the DoD and Congress.
It's unclear what the infected Marine's duties involved, but a source said that he did not have direct contact with the nearby Pentagon.
It follows the Navy's first confirmed coronavirus case and the first of a service member stationed in Europe, after a U.S. sailor deployed to Naples, Italy tested positive.
The sailor stationed at Naval Support Activity Naples in southern Italy tested positive for the virus on Friday, U.S. European Command confirmed in a statement.
'The member is currently restricted to their residence, receiving supportive and medical care in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control,' said European Command.
'Military health professionals are conducting a thorough contact investigation to determine whether any other personnel may have been exposed,' it said.
Personnel that the infected sailor had close contact with have been notified and are in self-isolation at their residence.
Naples is outside of the northern Italy 'red zones' that have been hardest hit by the virus, but the outbreak has quickly spread, making Italy Europe's hardest-hit country so far in the epidemic.
On Saturday, the number of confirmed cases in Italy jumped by more than 1,200, to 5,883, the biggest daily rise since the epidemic began there just over two weeks ago.
Deaths due to the highly infectious virus were up 36 to 233, said the head of Italy's civil protection agency, Angelo Borrelli.
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