U.S. officials reported the 15th case of coronavirus in the United States on Thursday, saying the patient was among those who had been evacuated from Wuhan, China, and placed under federal quarantine at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
It was the third evacuee and first at Lackland to test positive, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a statement while noting that there will likely be additional cases among people recently returned from China.
The U.S. government has flown about 800 people from Hubei province, with 195 people from the first flight having been released on Tuesday. Many are government employees and their families who are under 14-day quarantine at U.S. military bases.
"The individual is currently isolated and receiving medical care at a designated hospital nearby," the CDC said.
The Lackland evacuees arrived in the United States on Feb. 7.
The fast-spreading virus has killed 1,370 people and infected about 60,000, nearly all in China, constraining the world's second largest economy and handing the ruling Communist Party one of its most difficult tests in years.
Japan confirmed its first coronavirus death, adding to two previous fatalities, in Hong Kong and the Philippines.
The 15 U.S. cases, spread among seven states, mostly involve travelers who recently returned from China. The two other evacuees to test positive were under quarantine at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar near San Diego.
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