Frisco patient’s wife, child test positive for new virus as Dallas records first case

Coronavirus

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The wife and 3-year-old child of a Texas man found to have the new coronavirus following a trip to California have also tested positive, health officials said Tuesday.

Texas has now more than two dozen confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The family lives in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, and all were in stable condition and under self-quarantine at their home, Collin County Health Care Services said in a statement. Another child in the family was also being re-tested. The father is believed to be the first person in Texas to contract the virus within the U.S.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as a fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause severe complications, including pneumonia.

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The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover. In mainland China, where the virus first exploded, more than 80,000 people have been diagnosed and more than 58,000 have so far recovered.

Dr. John Hellerstadt, commissioner of the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, said Tuesday that he could not provide lawmakers with the number of people tested for the virus in the state. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has also asked health insurers to waive costs related to diagnosing the virus for families who are on state-regulated insurance plans.

A dozen cases around Houston have all been related to travelers on an Egyptian cruise. Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio has also received passengers from cruise ships and American evacuees from Wuhan, China.

In Montgomery County, located just north of Houston, health officials said Tuesday that a man in his 40s who was being treated at a local hospital tested positive. Officials said he’s a Montgomery County resident and that they are gathering details on his travel history.

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On Tuesday, Dallas County reported its first positive case, a 77-year-old from out of state. The person, who has an extensive travel history, is being treated at a Dallas-area hospital. The Northeast Texas Public Health District on Tuesday reported a case in Gregg County. That patient, who traveled within the U.S., was isolated at home.

Collin County officials said the father was in his 30s and is believed to have been exposed to the virus during a trip to Silicon Valley in February. The county said the family’s children had no symptoms and were not contagious while attending school.

In Austin, the MotoGP racing series on Tuesday postponed the annual Grand Prix of the Americas that was scheduled for April until Nov. 15. Local organizers said MotoGP’s decision was based on global travel considerations and noted that many of the race teams are based in Italy.

“The risk of shipping everything here, having fans coming here, and then not having an event, that was too big a risk to take,” said Bobby Epstein, chairman of the Circuit of the Americas race track where the grand prix is held.

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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.