Man tests ‘presumptive positive’ for coronavirus in first case in Dallas-Fort Worth
Collin County health officials on Monday identified a “presumptive positive” case of novel coronavirus in a Frisco man who is a parent of a child who attends a Frisco elementary school.
It’s the first case of COVID-19 in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area and North Texas.
The man has a child at Tadlock Elementary School, the Frisco Independent School District said in statement Monday. The district referred to the man as part of the “Tadlock parent community.”
Frisco ISD officials said they are working with the Collin County Health Department and Denton County Public Health to contain further exposure to the community. The school district is on spring break this week.
The man, who is in his 30s and recently traveled to California, is in isolation in his home and he’s being monitored by county health care staff, according to a Collin County news release.
The immediate risk of transmission of the virus in Collin County remains low, according to health officials. Collin County Health Care Services is also monitoring the man’s family, setting up any needed tests, and working to identify any contacts who may have been exposed while he was infectious, the release said. Anyone found to have had close contact to the patient will be contacted directly by county health care staff.
Collin County health authorities said they will await further testing to confirm the initial results, since the patient’s symptoms have not required hospitalization.
A presumptive positive case means a test done at the state or local level had positive results, which are awaiting confirmation by a Centers for Disease Control lab.
Texas cases and response
In North Texas and across the state, authorities have been preparing to respond to cases of the virus.
John Peter Smith Hospital officials in Fort Worth established a new screening process for patients in recent weeks.
The Fort Worth Office of Emergency Management said in a press release Monday night that city officials are monitoring the situation and are increasing sanitization of facilities.
Other than evacuees who have been quarantined in San Antonio, 12 other cases have been reported in Texas — six in Harris County and six in Fort Bend County, near Houston — according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Six labs across Texas, including in Fort Worth, are capable of testing for coronavirus, with four more on the way by the end of the month, Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday.
State lawmakers postponed committee hearings scheduled for the coming weeks over coronavirus concerns. A slew of Senate hearings that were set to discuss redistricting, ways to prevent future mass shootings, education, transportation and more were canceled, with the furthest out scheduled for April 29.
Meeting notices said hearings would be rescheduled “to a later date in the future,” but it’s unclear as to when.
Steven Aranyi, a spokesman for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s office, said in a statement Monday that Patrick decided to postpone interim Senate hearings for the next few weeks after consulting with committee chairmen over the weekend.
”Public testimony is important — we want to hear the voice of every Texan and make sure they are comfortable traveling to committee hearings,” Aranyi said. “There is adequate time in the interim for the committees to complete their work. Lt. Gov. Patrick believes this step is the prudent thing to do at this time as Texas continues ongoing efforts to contain and mitigate the impact of COVID-19.”
As of Monday afternoon, a House Public Health Committee hearing to discuss the state’s preparedness was still scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Texas Capitol.
There were 113,584 confirmed cases worldwide, including 607 in the U.S., as of Monday afternoon, according to tracking from John Hopkins University. There had been almost 4,000 deaths worldwide, with more than 3,100 of those in China.
Quarantine in San Antonio
Last week, the San Antonio mayor declared a public health emergency after an evacuee from Wuhan, China, tested positive for coronavirus after she was released from quarantine in San Antonio.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg declared a local state of disaster and public health emergency, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Coronavirus evacuees who were quarantined on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland had been banned from traveling to or through San Antonio, KENS reported.
More than 120 evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship were released last week after their mandatory two-week quarantine ended, the Texas Tribune reported.
But passengers from another cruise ship, the Grand Princess, will arrive at Lackland Air Force Base this week for quarantine, officials said.
“Governor Abbott has spoken with Vice President Pence regarding the repatriation of American citizens, including approximately 90 Texans, to Lackland Air Force Base from the Grand Princess Cruise ship off the coast of California,” John Wittman, a spokesman for Abbott, said in an email. “These passengers will not be released into the general public. All of the repatriated citizens will remain at Lackland under quarantine until they clear the revised and heightened testing protocol to ensure they are not affected by the COVID-19 virus. Once cleared, Texans will be released to return home, while non-Texans will be safely transported to their home state using the same public safety protocol used for the Diamond Princess passengers who were previously quarantined at Lackland.”
Passengers who were symptomatic or tested positive for COVID-19 during quarantine must remain in isolation until they have no symptoms and take two negative tests more than 24 hours apart, the city of San Antonio said in a news release.
Symptoms and prevention
Symptoms of fever, cough and/or shortness of breath may appear two to 14 days after exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illness has ranged from mild to severe for COVID-19 cases in the United States.
There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19.
The CDC recommends these preventive actions:
▪ Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
▪ Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
▪ Stay home when you are sick.
▪ Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
▪ Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
▪ Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.
▪ Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.
▪ If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with a least 60 percent alcohol.
▪ Consult CDC’s travel website for any travel advisories and steps to protect yourself if you plan to travel outside of the United States.
The Trump administration will ease regulations on disinfectants that can combat the coronavirus, in an effort to get additional cleaning products to the market more quickly amid spiking demand, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Monday.
Disinfectants that have already been registered by the agency and reviewed for their efficacy “are being expedited,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement.
“Today’s action will help move disinfectants that are effective against the novel coronavirus to the market more quickly, without diminishing the scope of the review to ensure safety and quality of the product,” Wheeler said.
Cleaning products, such as Lysol and Purell, have flown off store shelves since the novel coronavirus outbreak in the United States.
While those companies have boosted production – and some states, such as New York, have resorted to making their own disinfectants – the administration’s action is intended to expand its list of products already on the market for effectively combating coronavirus.
This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Man tests ‘presumptive positive’ for coronavirus in first case in Dallas-Fort Worth."
