Rumors of OC’s Coronavirus Infection Shocks Irvine — Here are the Facts

The Orange County Health Care Agency has confirmed one case of the coronavirus, which has so far killed over 80 people and infected thousands of others, in Orange County, California.

The coronavirus, a potentially lethal respiratory infection, is believed to have originated from a large seafood and animal market in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak.

Since the first case was reported in Wuhan, the death toll has climbed to more than 80 people and the virus has made its way into the United States, where 110 people are currently being evaluated, according to the New York Times.

There has been one reported case of the virus in Washington, Arizona, and Chicago, according to the LA Times. California health officials have confirmed two other cases of coronavirus in Los Angeles and Orange County, both brought on by travelers who came from Wuhan. 

On Saturday, the Orange County Health Care Agency confirmed a case of coronavirus in the area:

Please note, there are many stories on social media being shared about the coronavirus. Please be aware that the OC Health Care Agency has submitted the following press release. Outside of this there are no other confirmed details.#Irvine #Coronavirus ochealth pic.twitter.com/0mMHpeZqUn

— FarrahNKhan (@FarrahNK) January 26, 2020

The agency stated that the traveler from Wuhan has been “transported to a local hospital and is in isolation and in good condition.”

However, the internet has been in a frenzy since Saturday over rumors about the real number of infected people in Orange County and where they may have visited given that infected individuals can be contagious before symptoms begin to show.

Some tweets allege that one person with coronavirus has been to public areas around Irvine, including community college Irvine Valley College, popular food plaza Diamond Jamboree, and the South Coast Plaza shopping center, details that remain unverified. Others allege that the patient was hospitalized in the city of Irvine.

i was wondering why today all of a sudden everyone had masks on and were looking for masks (every target within a 7mi radius has ran out of them btw) then i saw theres been a confirmed case of the coronavirus in irvine… in the woodbridge area which is where i live at 🙃

— 🌙 (@tiakaygee) January 27, 2020

also apparently someone w/ coronavirus was at omomo irvine and could’ve spread it without showing symptoms, SO STAY SAFE OUT THERE YALL

— seth (@sethh_sm) January 26, 2020

I work in Irvine that’s where the 1st coronavirus patient is being hospitalized! This shit scary af everyone be protector yourself buy masks wear gloves

— (@angelsj_r) January 27, 2020

The person with coronavirus in OC went to south coast plaza, diamond jamboree, and 99 ranch and everyone that’s been there recently needs to get checked out. So like all of Irvine and half of OC. Nice

— angela seeger (@angelagrace_) January 27, 2020

After information spread that the coronavirus may be in Irvine, residents created a petition to shut down the University of California, Irvine campus, a university well-known for having a large population of Chinese students, to “stop the Wuhan Coronavirus!”

The creator of the petition wrote that Irvine students are “experiencing tremendous fear and concern over going to crowded places such as lecture halls, and campuses. We wanted to take precaution measures, but all masks are currently sold out in the Irvine area.”

More than 6,000 students have signed the petition as of this writing.

However, a representative at UCI told NextShark,  “I am not aware of coronavirus at the UCI campus.”

One Facebook user, Kaila Karns, listed some of the places she believes that the one coronavirus patient visited, including the Irvine Kaiser Hospital.

NextShark reached out to Kaila, who said that she heard the news from her friend who “saw it on the news in Taiwan.” 

After she shared the post on Facebook, some people contacted her saying “they were also told by family overseas that there was news reporting on it in Irvine.”

However, a spokesperson at the Kaiser Permanente Orange County – Irvine Medical Center told NextShark, “It is to our understanding that we have no patients with coronavirus at this time. There is some inaccurate information flowing out there.”

Another representative from the hospital confirmed that “we don’t have a patient or anything there in Irvine.”

A second petition to declare a public health emergency in Orange County was also started and has gained over 600 signatures as of this writing.

While the exact status of the virus in Irvine is unclear, all we can do now is to protect ourselves.

The representative went on to provide tips on protecting yourself against the virus, including washing your hands often, avoiding contact with people who are sick, and more.

The full list of tips can be found on the Kaiser Permanente website.

Feature Image via Getty

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Contributer : NextShark