Health and Science

UC San Diego health experts provide updates on coronavirus patients

Key Points
  • UC San Diego health experts held a press conference Thursday to update the public on the status of coronavirus patients at one of its facilities.
  • Clinical director of infection prevention at UC San Diego Health Dr. Randy Taplitz said that UCSD Health currently has three patients, two of whom have tested positive for the new covoronavirus.
A woman waiting for an international traveler to arrive to LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal wears a medical mask for protection against the coronavirus outbreak on February 2, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.
David McNew | Getty Images

UC San Diego health experts held a press conference Thursday to update the public on the status of coronavirus patients at one of its facilities.

Clinical director of infection prevention at UC San Diego Health Dr. Randy Taplitz said that UCSD Health currently has three patients, two of whom have tested positive for the new covoronavirus, now called COVID-19. The third is a person under investigation, Taplitz said.

The two patients who tested positive for the virus are under isolation, Taplitz said, adding that visitors are being limited. Both patients who tested positive for the virus are in "fair condition," Taplitz said.

Taplitz said the hospital is communicating regularly with Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, where more than 200 Americans evacuated from the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan, are currently quarantined. She said the hospital expects to receive more patients from the base.

UC San Diego Health said it received several evacuees for testing last week. One tested positive for the virus and has remained in isolation at one of the hospital's facilities since then. The other was returned to the Miramar base accidentally after a testing error, but has since been returned to the hospital "for observation and isolation until cleared by the CDC for release," according to UC San Diego Health.

As of Thursday, more than 60,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported in over two dozen countries, resulting in least 1,300 deaths almost exclusively in China.

To see the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit CNBC's live updates here.