CDC is closely monitoring an outbreak of respiratory diseases caused by a novel (new) coronavirus that was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. On February 11, 2020, the World Health Organization labeled the outbreak as coronavirus disease 2019 (abbreviated “COVID-19”).
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with MERS, SARS, and now with this new virus (named SARS-COV2).
Chinese health officials have reported tens of thousands of cases of COVID-19 in China, with the virus reportedly spreading from person-to-person in throughout the country. COVID-19 illnesses, most of them associated with travel from Wuhan, are also being reported in a growing number of international locations , including the United States. A few person-to-person spread of this virus outside China has been detected. The United States reported the first confirmed instance of person-to-person spread with this virus on January 30, 2020.
Since then, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern external icon” (PHEIC). On January 31, 2020, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency (PHE) for the United States to aid the nation’s healthcare community in responding to COVID-19. Also on January 31, the President of the United States signed a presidential “Proclamation on Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons who Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus external icon.” These measures were announced at a press briefing by members of the President’s Coronavirus Task Force external icon.