California declares coronavirus emergency
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the novel coronavirus after a California man who had contracted it during a cruise died.
Officials were now trying to locate others who were on the ship to determine whether they might have also contracted the virus.
The virus has now been reported in 12 counties in the state and has sickened more than 50 people.
Newsom said he felt confident that the state could contain the spread of the virus by passengers of the cruise who had already returned to California.
“We have the resources,” Newsom said. “We have the capacity. By this evening, we will have contacted every county health official that has someone who came off this cruise. They will have their contact information and begin a process to contact those individuals.”
Newsom said his declaration is intended to help California prepare for and contain the spread of the coronavirus by allowing state agencies to more easily procure equipment and services, share information on patients and alleviate restrictions on the use of state-owned properties and facilities.
“This proclamation, I want to point out, is not about money,” Newsom said of the emergency declaration. “It’s about resourcefulness. It’s about our ability to add tools to the tool kit.”
Placer County public health officials announced that a patient who had tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a cruise to Mexico last month died. The individual was an elderly adult with underlying health conditions and was the county’s second confirmed case of COVID19, reported Tuesday night. Officials said close contacts of the patient were being quarantined and monitored for the illness.
The person’s likely exposure occurred during travel on a Princess cruise ship that departed Feb. 10 from San Francisco and sailed to Mexico, returning Feb. 21, officials said.
The patient tested positive Tuesday and had been placed in isolation at Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center.
The person probably had minimal community exposure between returning from the cruise and arriving at the hospital by ambulance Thursday, health officials said. Ten Kaiser Permanente health care workers and five emergency responders, who were exposed before the patient was put in isolation, are now in quarantine.
None of those 15 workers is exhibiting symptoms, officials said.
It’s possible that other cruise passengers may have been exposed, officials said. Placer County Public Health is working closely with Sacramento County Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify and contact other cruise passengers.
By one estimate, more than 50% of the roughly 2,500 passengers who traveled from San Francisco to Mexico and back on the cruise ship with the Placer County victim are Californians, Newsom said.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of this patient,” Placer County health officer Dr. Aimee Sisson said.