FAIRFAX, Va. -- A second Virginian has been diagnosed with coronavirus (COVID-19), according to state health officials.
The second patient was described as a resident from Fairfax in their 80s who "traveled on a similar Nile River cruise as other positive coronavirus (COVID-19) patients."
"The patient began to develop symptoms of respiratory illness on February 28, was hospitalized on March 5, and remains in stable condition," state health officials wrote.
A Sunday afternoon press conference was scheduled to discuss the case, and that of Virginia's first announced coronavirus (COVID-19) patient, a Northern Virginia marine.
The marine is a Marine Base Corps Quantico resident who is at Fort Belvoir, state officials confirmed.
Pentagon chief spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman said the marine, who tested positive Saturday, is being treated at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.
“The Marine recently returned from overseas where he was on official business,” Hoffman said.
Virginia health officials reminded folks to take the following precautions:
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
- Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are unavailable.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
Officials confirm first coronavirus case in nation's capital
Officials in Washington, D.C., say a man in his 50s has tested positive for coronavirus, marking the first presumptively confirmed case in the nation’s capital.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said Saturday that the man started exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 in late February and was hospitalized Thursday.
She said another man, from Nigeria, who had passed through Washington has also tested positive for the virus in Maryland.