March 12 update:

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency after the outbreak of the coronavirus.

According to Virginia Department of Health, Virginia has "17 presumptive positive cases." Northam has advised Virginia residents to avoid large gatherings and canceling all state conferences and large events, according to reports.

Original:

Central Virginia has reported its first known case of coronavirus. This was confirmed by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) on Wednesday. The Chickahominy district is home to the ninth case of coronavirus in Virginia since the first COVID-19 coronavirus case in Virginian was confirmed by health officials on March 7.

This ninth presumptive case is a Hanover teen who had returned from an international trip where COVID-19 was spreading in a community. Upon the teen’s arrival back home on March 4, he followed proper guidelines to stay home for two weeks. Symptoms of COVID-19 arose on March 9. He was tested for coronavirus and the test results came back positive but are considered presumptive. They are waiting for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide confirmation.

“Discovering a case of COVID-19 in our community does not come as a surprise given international travel from an affected area,” said Chickahominy Health District Director Dr. Thomas Franck in a press release from the VDH. “We are fortunate that the resident followed our public health advice in accordance with the latest guidelines by staying home and limiting contact with others; consequently, we believe the risk to the general community remains low.”

According to the press release, the teen is "currently doing well and is isolated at home."

While public officials have believed that the risk of the virus’s spread is low, citizens of Virginia are encouraged to do their part to keep the illness from spreading.

On Jan. 30, The World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations Emergency Committee declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern.”

Symptoms of the coronavirus include mild to severe respiratory illness, fever, cough and shortness of breath. Symptoms can appear 2 to 14 days after being exposed.

In a press briefing posted Wednesday morning, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, provided stats on the virus.

“As of today, there are more than 110,000 cases of COVID-19 worldwide,” said Messonnier. “In the U.S., as of Sunday evening, 34 states plus New York City and D.C. have reported more than 500 cases of COVID-19 to CDC and 19 deaths. Nearly half of reported cases are in California and Washington; 18 of the deaths are in Washington. The remaining one is in California. Right now the states with the most cases are California and Washington.”

She added that a report from the World Health Organization described the virus as “highly contagious.” Reports from China that went through over 70,000 COVID-19 patients said that approximately 80 percent of the cases were mild and that people recovered.

VHD recommends avoiding close contact with people who are sick. People should avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

Handwashing is an important tactic to combatting the spread of coronavirus — wash hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.

As far as hand sanitizer goes, it should have at least 60 percent alcohol for use when soap and water are unavailable.

Use a tissue to cough or sneeze. Afterward, the tissue should be disposed into the trash bin.

The American Red Cross, according to a press release this week, is urging healthy and eligible individuals to give blood or platelets to help keep the blood supply from experiencing shortages.

In a tweet dated March 9, President Donald Trump provided his own observations on the coronavirus in an effort to bring some perspective to the situation.

“So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu,” tweeted Trump. “It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”

Multiple attempts to contact local officials were unsuccessful as of Tuesday.

To learn more about donating blood or platelets, visit redcrossblood.org.

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