A new case of novel coronavirus has been reported in Northern California, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say it may be the first case of person-to-person transmission in the general public in the U.S.
According to the California Department of Public Health, the patient lives in Solano County and is being treated in Sacramento County.
Health officials say the patient "had no known exposure to the virus through travel or close contact with a known infected individual."
They are now working to track others with whom the patient may have had contact.
There have been two other known instances of person-to-person transmission in the U.S., but in both cases, the patient had prolonged interaction with a family member who returned from Wuhan, China and had tested positive for COVID-19.
Including this most recent case, health officials say California has had seven travel-related cases, one close contact case, and one community transmission.
Still, health officials say the health risk from coronavirus to the general public is low, the disease has a low mortality rate, and of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, approximately 80 percent do not require hospitalization.
