Two Coronavirus Cases Confirmed in Rhode Island
Two Rhode Island residents have tested positive for the coronavirus after returning from a Catholic school field trip.
Students and staff from Saint Raphael Academy in Pawtucket traveled to Europe from Feb. 14-22, and the trip included time in Italy, where there is now an outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
A 40-year-old man who tested "presumptively positive" for the virus is still in the hospital in stable condition, according to the Rhode Island Department of Public Health. A teenager who tested positive is quarantined at home with mild symptoms.
Additionally, a woman in her 30s, who works at the Achievement First Academy Middle School in Providence but was on the trip, has been tested for the virus. She is at home with mild symptoms.
State officials said 38 people went on the trip. The majority were students, and others were chaperones. All will be self-monitoring for symptoms at home with public health supervision. State health officials said they have been instructed to stay away from school or work and to remain at home for 14 days.
There are currently around 90 cases of COVID-19 in the United States, with two confirmed deaths at a Washington state nursing home, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The virus has now spread to at least 12 states.
So far there has been only one reported case in Massachusetts involving a student at UMass Boston who had traveled to China.
The majority of the 80,000 worldwide cases are mild, but the virus can cause severe complications, particularly in older patients with underlying medical conditions. The coronavirus has killed around 3,000 people, and the virus continues to spread fast in South Korea, Iran, and Italy.