Coronavirus USA News: Texas Confirms First Covid-19 Case, US Total Now 15

The 13th to the 15th cases of Covid-15 in the United States were all confirmed from Monday to Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The 15th case is a person under quarantine in Texas, making him the first person in the Lone Star state confirmed infected by the Novel coronavirus.

All these three cases are Americans that recently returned from China. CDC confirmed the 15th infection, saying this patient is among a group of people under a federal quarantine order at the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. This person was among the passengers aboard a State Department-chartered flight from China that arrived on February 7. The 13th and 14th patients were also among Americans repatriated from China last week.

CDC said the Texas patient had Covid-19 symptoms and tested positive for the pneumonia-like respiratory disease. This man is currently isolated and is receiving medical care at a designated hospital nearby.

"There will likely be additional cases in the coming days and weeks, including among other people recently returned from Wuhanm" warned CDC. "While 195 people were discharged from quarantine on Tuesday, more than 600 people who returned on chartered flights from Wuhan remain under federal quarantine and are being closely monitored to contain the spread of the virus."

The 14th patient is quarantined at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar base in San Diego, California. CDC said the patient was among a group of people airlifted out of Wuhan, China to Miramar on February 7. This person was under a federal-imposed quarantine at the time the infection was confirmed.

The 13th confirmed case of Covid-19 was discovered among a group of evacuees at Miramar and reported Monday. CDC said Wednesday the two patients had arrived on different flights and were housed in separate facilities.

"At this time, there is no indication of person-to-person spread of this virus at the quarantine facility, but CDC will carry out a thorough contact investigation as part of its current response strategy to detect and contain any cases of infection with this virus," said Dr. Chris Braden, CDC on-site team leader.

CDC at the time repeated its warning there will likely be more confirmed cases in the coming days, including among recent evacuees from Wuhan.

Since January 29, the U.S. has evacuated more than 800 people from China on five chartered flights to sites in California, Nebraska and Texas. All these people are isolated under a 14-day quarantine.

As of Tuesday, there were more than 600 evacuees under quarantine. This total included 232 people at Miramar. CDC said 195 evacuees were released from the March Air Reserve base in California following the completion of their 14-day quarantine. None of these people tested positive for Covid-19.