Centers for Disease Control Report Second Case of Novel Coronavirus in US - Reports

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have detected a second case of the novel coronavirus in the United States after an infected woman returned from the Chinese city of Wuhan, and are monitoring 63 other possible infections across 22 US states, CNN reported on Friday.

"CDC believes the immediate risk to the US public is low at this time, but the situation is evolving rapidly," CDC senior official Nancy Messonnier was quoted as saying in the report.

The woman diagnosed with the novel coronavirus is a resident of the US state of Illinois and travelled to China in late December, the report said, adding that she began experiencing symptoms upon returning to the United States last week.

The patient has been isolated in a hospital for precaution and was in stable condition, the report said.

On Tuesday, the CDC said a man from the US state of Washington has become the first US person to contract the novel coronavirus.

The CDC noted that the man reached out to local health authorities last week once he started experiencing pneumonia-like symptoms. He has been quarantined in a hospital outside of Seattle after flying back from Wuhan.

The virus, which was first detected in Wuhan in late December, has already killed 26 people and infected more than 880 others in China. Amid the outbreak of the virus, several Chinese cities have been put on lockdown, while Beijing has decided to suspend all festivities for the Chinese New Year.