The city of San Francisco has confirmed two cases of novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, Mayor London Breed announced Thursday.
Both patients, who tested positive Wednesday, do not have a history of travel to a location with confirmed cases and also have no known contact with any confirmed patients.
The first patient is a man in his 90s, and he’s been hospitalized and is in serious condition. The second patient is a woman in her 40s. She’s been hospitalized and is in fair condition.
“We want everyone to remain calm and continue taking precautions to keep themselves and their families healthy,” Breed said in a statement.
“We have been increasing resources and staffing to prepare for the community spread of the virus, and we will do everything we can to protect public health. The city is in regular contact with all hospitals, and health facilities in San Francisco, and our health system is prepared to deliver car to everyone in need and provide a coordinated response as additional cases of the novel coronavirus are confirmed,” she said.
The two confirmed cases in San Francisco comes just after Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday proclaimed a state of emergency, following the death of a Placer County resident from COVID-19 who had recently returned from a cruise to Mexico.
That Grand Princess cruise ship was on its way back to San Francisco from Hawaii, but for now it remains off the coast of California. The California Department of Public Health, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the U.S. Coast Guard are working to determine if COVID-19 is present on the ship.
Once that is determined, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will determine where exactly the ship can be berthed.
For more information about the coronavirus, residents can visit the San Francisco Department of Public Health at www.sfdph.org.