THOUSANDS across America are in voluntary self-quarantine after returning from coronavirus-hit China, health officials reveal
Estimated 7,000 people returned to San Francisco from China in recent weeks
Returnees have shown no signs of having contracted the virus and no fever
Health experts have advised 14 days self-quarantine with limited contact
Reports say there are 575 ‘medium risk’ returnees in New York, 27 people in self-quarantine in Iowa and another 10 in North Dakota
By RYAN FAHEY
DAILYMAIL.COM
21 February 2020
Thousands of Americans who have returned from China are being asked to self-quarantine for two weeks as a precaution.
US citizens who have recently returned from China, where the coronavirus outbreak began, have been asked to shut themselves away for 14 days and to limit contact with others.
The returnees have shown no signs of having contracted the virus, formally known as COVID-19, and haven’t developed a fever or respiratory complications.
Globally, the coronavirus epidemic has killed at least 2,247 people and infected more than 76,700, and has spread to at least two dozen countries.
Reports estimate that 7,000 people have returned to just one US state from the People’s Republic in February.
‘The travelers have all been very cooperative,’ Dr. Sherlita Amler, the health commissioner for New York’s Westchester County, told NBC.
‘They don’t want to expose their friends and their family. They just want to be home and safe.’
NBC News reported that there are 575 ‘medium risk’ returnees in New York, 27 people in self-quarantine in Iowa and another 10 in North Dakota.
Washington state reported 745 individuals who have been asked to avoid the outside. Georgia identified 200.
Michigan reported that 300 people had been referred for monitoring.
In Virginia, 138 residents ‘were asked to remain at home and practice social distancing’, according to Dr. Lilian Peake, the state epidemiologist.
Other states opted out of sharing the number of travelers they were keeping an eye on.
Health officials monitored the 11 airports across the states where flights from China were rerouted in order to get an idea of possible cases.
