U.S. man diagnosed with coronavirus from China, 1st case outside Asia

WASHINGTON. KAZINFORM A U.S. man in Seattle has been diagnosed with a new coronavirus from China after traveling to the country, in what has become the first confirmed case in the United States and the first outside of Asia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

The man in his 30s returned to the United States last Wednesday from Wuhan in central China -- the epicenter of the outbreak of the pneumonia-like coronavirus. The man has been isolated and is in good condition, the institution said, Kyodo reports.

«The confirmation that human-to-human spread with this virus is occurring in Asia certainly raises our level of concern, but we continue to believe the risk of this novel coronavirus to the American public at large remains low at this time,» an official of the center said at a press conference.

According to the CDC, the individual reached out to a medical provider in Washington State about his condition on Sunday, and received treatment. Laboratory testing of a specimen led the center to confirm on Tuesday the first U.S. case of the coronavirus.

The individual has reported that he did not visit the Wuhan seafood market where local health authorities believe the virus originated, and did not know anyone who was ill.

«He was just traveling from that area (of Wuhan),» a U.S. health official said.

As of Tuesday, China has confirmed more than 300 cases of the new coronavirus. The virus has also been confirmed in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.