More coronavirus cases confirmed in Texas, bringing total to 5
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Health officials in Texas have confirmed four new cases of coronavirus in the state, bringing the total number of infections to five.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) announced on Thursday that all new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Harris County, which is also home to busy Houston.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, left, and Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of Harris County Public Health, listen as Dr. David Persse, Houston Health Department, center, speaks Thursday, March 5, 2020 about the coronavirus to the media at Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP)
In a statement shared with Fox News, the health authorities identified the persons as Harris County residents who recently traveled aboard.
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The Houston Chronicle reported that the people are all in their 60s and visited Egypt in February, where they may have been exposed to the viral disease.
As for the collective group, the Chronicle reports that “the five people contracted the virus independently of each other and developed respiratory symptoms after returning to Texas.”
A full meeting room of seniors listen as Dr. Joe A. Anzaldua, the local health authority for the city of Sugar Land, talks about how they can better prepare themselves against coronavirus Thursday, March 5, 2020, at T.E. Harman Center in Sugar Land, Texas. The center for senior adults 50 years of age and older held the meeting with county health officials in response to the recent news of a 70-year-old man in Fort Bend county said to have COVID-19. (Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Moving forward, public health officials are at work in identifying the patients’ close contacts for possible isolation, monitoring and testing if they appear symptomatic.
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The DSHS, Texas Division of Emergency Management and other state agencies are coordinating efforts in the preventative fight against the spread of the coronavirus, the DSHS said. Currently, COVID-19’s immediate risk to most Texans is low.
More information about the ongoing outbreak is available at the DSHS’ website.
