Amid California’s newly-announced state of emergency comes the news that a medical professional who helped screen passengers at Los Angeles International Airport tested positive for the virus on Tuesday night.
According to a statement by the Department of Homeland Security, the professional last worked on February 21st screening passengers for the sickness. They also claim that they wore the proper protective gear while performing the screenings.
According to the statement, the person began to exhibit cold-like symptoms on Saturday, went to see their primary care physician on Sunday where they were tested for COVID-19, and got the positive test results back on Tuesday. This means that the person started showing symptoms a week after their last possible exposure.
DHS had this to say about the situation:
“DHS is happy to report that this individual was highly trained and did everything right both on the job and when they began to feel sick,” DHS said. “We are told the individual wore all the correct protective equipment and took necessary protections on the job. Additionally, as soon as the individual began to feel sick, they self-quarantined, saw a physician, and reported to the appropriate authorities and officials.”
DHS has said that they are working on communicating with the co-workers in order to trace contact. They have also made it clear that they do not know if this is a result of a community spread, or if they came in contact with the virus through their work.
COVID-19 has been flooding the headlines for the last few weeks after its intial outbreak in China. Just today, the state of California has announced a state of emergency for the virus and Colorado has announced the appearance of its first case.
While the government’s response to the outbreak has drawn its fair share of criticism, the Senate passed an $8.3 billion bill today to help combat the virus. The bill is now being sent to President Trump for approval.
