Jenkins described the person as "a 77-year-old out-of-state traveler with extensive travel history" and said the person is being treated at a Dallas-area hospital. The person was immediately identified and isolated at the hospital, and hospital staff members were wearing appropriate protective equipment, Jenkins said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a presumptive positive case is when a patient has tested positive for the disease by a public health lab, but those results haven't been confirmed by the CDC.
Dr. Philip Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, said the case was concerning, but not unexpected.Dallas County Reports First Presumptive Positive 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Case pic.twitter.com/TxLmqEC6nR
— Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) March 10, 2020
"We have been watching the numbers increase across the U.S. and have been preparing for this event," Huang said. "We are working with all local, regional and statewide health authorities to monitor the situation and update the public."
Although the case is the first in Dallas County, other cases of coronavirus have been reported elsewhere in the DFW area. On Monday, Collin County health officials reported that a Frisco man had tested presumptive positive for the disease after a business trip to Silicon Valley. On Tuesday, officials announced that the man's wife and 3-year-old child were also confirmed cases.
In Harris and Fort Bend counties, in the Houston metro area, 12 people have tested positive for the disease, according to Texas Health and Human Services.
