‘Simply Inadequate.’ California Governor Says State Only Has 200 Coronavirus Testing Kits

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — California and federal officials were in the midst of an intense effort Thursday to retrace the movements of a Northern California woman believed to be the first person in the U.S. to contract the highly contagious coronavirus with no known connection to travel abroad or other known causes. The woman lives in Solano County, home to Travis Air Force Base, where dozens of people infected in China or on cruise ships have been treated. But Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, said there was no evidence the woman had any connection to the base. The woman, who was not identified, first sought medical care at NorthBay VacaValley Hospital, in Vacaville, a city of more than 100,000 people about 59 miles (95 kilometers) from San Francisco. She stayed there for three days, but doctors did not test her for the virus because she did not meet federal testing criteria, NorthBay Healthcare Group President Aimee Brewer said in a statement. She was then transferred to a Sacramento hospital where she later tested positive for the virus. The Vacaville hospital is still open and operating normally but has identified employees who treated the woman and have asked some of them to stay home and monitor themselves for symptoms, Brewer said. Gov. Gavin Newsom declined comment when asked by reporters to name the community in Solano County where the woman was from but urged people to take precautions while emphasizing that the risks to publi...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 onetime Source Type: news