SALT LAKE CITY — The third and fourth patients with confirmed cases of coronavirus were identified in Utah on Wednesday.
One of them is a Utah Jazz player, the other a 60-year-old Summit County man who recently traveled to Europe and had close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case during his trip.
After Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive, it prompted the NBA to suspend its season “until further notice.” The Utah Jazz-Oklahoma City Thunder game was canceled shortly before the NBA made the announcement about the season.
Utah’s third confirmed coronavirus case, the unidentified 60-year-old man, has been recovering at home, the Utah Department of Health reported Wednesday.
“It is safe to say, with the patient being at home, that he’s doing well enough to be there and is not needing to be hospitalized,” Dr. Richard Orlandi, an otolaryngologist with University of Utah Health, said during a press briefing. He said the patient had only been home in Utah for a few days before he “correctly” sought medical help on the telephone and was able to arrange for testing without putting other patients at risk.
Because the man knew he might have contracted the coronavirus while away, there are “less than five” people he has come into close contact with and who the local health department is now monitoring, according to Keegan McCaffrey, an epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health.
Summit County officials say they were ready and prepared for it to happen.
“Residents and visitors of Summit County can be assured that we’ve expected and prepared for COVID-19 in our community,” said Dr. Rich Bullough, director of the Summit County Health Department. “The system of identifying, reporting and now isolating the case has worked flawlessly.”
“We encourage residents and visitors not to be alarmed, but to take regular but important preventive health precautions such as correct hand-washing and staying home when sick,” Bullough said.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said in a statement late Wednesday that the rest of the Utah Jazz team was being screened for COVID-19 as a precautionary measure.
“We are working closely with the CDC and the NBA to gather more information on this case. We, along with the Utah Department of Health, are actively working to identify how long the patient (Gobert) has been experiencing symptoms, and are working to identify individuals who have had close enough contact with the player as to have been potentially exposed,” Herbert said.
Orlandi said that symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to that of influenza, including a fever, cough and/or shortness of breath. This novel strain of coronavirus, which leads to COVID-19, seems to be more severe in older people, which is a top concern for the health department, but McCaffrey said anyone is susceptible.
“As we see what’s happening throughout the rest of the world, it’s not surprising to see more cases,” Orlandi said, adding that the state health department is doing a great job of staying on top of Utah’s genealogy of this disease.
“We will continue to see more cases as the weeks roll on,” he said.
The Utah Department of Health has tested more than 136 people for COVID-19 locally, but that number jumps to around 150 when tests done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are included.
Those numbers are ramping up, said Utah epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn, who estimates they are testing as many as 50 Utahns each day now. She said there is no limit on the number of tests available, but there is a short supply of personal protective equipment required by medical personnel to perform the tests.
Testing for the coronavirus includes collecting nasal and oral swabs from patients who not only exhibit symptoms, but have traveled outside of Utah or been in contact with other patients confirmed to have the disease.
Two other confirmed COVID-19 patients are being treated in Ogden, at McKay-Dee Hospital, and in an undisclosed home in southern Davis County. Both patients, older than 60, had recently traveled outside of Utah when they contracted the novel coronavirus, according to the health department.
Mark Jorgensen remains under quarantine at his home in St. George after contracting the illness aboard an international cruise ship. He isn’t counted among the four Utah patients.
State officials, as well as leaders in Salt Lake County, have declared a state of emergency “to ensure we are prepared to respond in the event of a coronavirus outbreak in the community,” Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said Wednesday.
She has instituted what is called the Unified Command, which is a group of officials appointed to prepare to deal with potential outbreak throughout the state’s most populated county.
“Our community is strong and resilient,” Wilson said, adding that due to the size of the county, as well as its diversified workforce and strong economy, “we are well-prepared to handle this situation.”
“This worldwide outbreak has emphasized that infectious diseases do not know boundaries,” said Salt Lake County Health Department Executive Director Gary Edwards. “They go where people go.”
While there are now these confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Utah, there has yet to be any community transmission, or cases that spread from person to person, though McCaffrey said that is of imminent concern.
Though a similar respiratory illness, influenza doesn’t spread as quickly because a large portion of the population are immunized against it every year.
“There is no immunity for coronavirus,” Orlandi said. “This is a more severe disease as far as the severity of the illness a person can have and even the mortality is higher than the typical flu.”
There has been no official ban on large public gatherings, though many organizations, institutions and businesses in Utah have canceled conferences, restricted nonessential travel and moved communication to online platforms to avoid potential spread of illness throughout the community.
The Utah Legislature has set aside $16.5 million to deal with the potential influx of local patients, and the CDC on Wednesday announced that Utah will receive $6.4 million as part of the $8.3 billion divvied out to states to support COVID-19 response efforts.
“State and local health departments are on the front lines of responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, and we are deeply grateful for their work,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said. “President Trump, and his entire administration will continue working to ensure state and local jurisdictions have the resources they need to keep Americans safe and healthy.”
There is no vaccine available to prevent coronavirus disease and the CDC reports “the best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed.”
Utah Poison Control has partnered with the Utah Health Department to field calls at 1-800-456-7707, and answer questions from hundreds of callers each day, Dunn said.
Officials are, however, still asking the public to practice proper hand-washing and avoid touching their face, as well as staying home from work when sick.
“Showing up to work when ill is not proof of dedication to our workplace or to our employer,” Edwards said. “It can be dangerous and it puts others at risk of being infected.”
He said the coronavirus, officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on Wednesday, “is a matter of public health importance, but also personal preparedness.”
For more information, visit cdc.gov/coronavirus or coronavirus.utah.gov.
Contributing: Ashley Imlay