33 test positive for coronavirus in California - state governor
California's officials have been in "constant contact with federal agencies"
By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDSPassengers leave LAX after arriving from Shanghai, China, after a positive case of the coronavirus was announced in the Orange County suburb of Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 26, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS/RINGO CHIU)
33 people have tested positive for coronavirus in California, five of whom have already left the state, the state's Democratic governor Gavin Newsom has said at a news briefing in Sacramento, according to Reuters.California's officials have been in "constant contact with federal agencies" on the coronavirus, and the state is monitoring 8,400 people who arrived in the state on domestic commercial flights, the governor said.He added that the state's top priority is to get enough testing kits to detect the virus, as current supplies are "inadequate." The state currently only has around 200 kits, he said, however, the federal agencies will be sending more within days.The federal government has said it is dispatching test kits nationwide, and has pledged funding legislation within the next fortnight.The state on Wednesday reported the first known case of the virus in the United States of unknown origin. The patient had not recently traveled to an area with a reported outbreak, and was not exposed to another known infected person.Dr. Sonia Angell, California's state public health officer, said local, state and federal health investigators were contacting and isolating individuals who may have been exposed to the patient in what could be the first U.S. case of local "community spread."Reuters contributed to this report. This story is developing.
