Missouri has its first likely case of COVID 19, known as the coronavirus. During a press conference on Saturday evening at St. Louis County Executive Sam Page’s office, Gov. Mike Parson says the case involves a female in her 20s from St. Louis County, who had recently traveled to Italy.
“She is isolated at home with family members who have also been in isolation,” says Parson.
Page says the patient returned to Missouri earlier this week and tested positive for the virus. He says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected to confirm the case in the middle of the week. The woman’s parents are not showing symptoms of the disease at this time.
Page, an anesthesiologist, says the case is “highly likely” to come back confirmed as positive. “The test that’s performed by the CDC is the exact same test that’s performed here,” he says. “So it is unlikely that it will change, but because it’s not an FDA test-approved test, the language that we will say it’s presumptive positive. Although there is no expectation that it will change, it is within the realm of possibility.”
Page says the woman will be advised to remain isolated fourteen days after her symptoms are gone.
In a press release from the Governor’s Office, it says the state has tested a total of 26 individuals for the virus, including the expected positive case announced today. Three additional tests remain in progress.
The disease has infected tens of thousands of people around the world, with more than 3,000 dead.
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