Shasta County in Northern California reports its first presumed case of coronavirus

Shasta County health officials on Sunday reported the first “presumptive diagnosis” of coronavirus in a resident of the Northern California county.

“A man in his 50s is the first Shasta County resident to receive a presumptive diagnosis of COVID-19, the novel Coronavirus,” the county said in a news release. “The patient is recovering in isolation at home. The Shasta County Public Health Laboratory ran the first tests, which were positive, and they will be sent to the CDC for confirmation.”

No other information was immediately available.

California has more than 110 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

What are coronavirus symptoms? How does it spread?

Symptoms of the virus that causes COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which may occur two days to two weeks after exposure. Most develop only mild symptoms, but some people develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal. The disease is especially dangerous to the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.

Coronavirus is spread through contact between people within six feet of each other, especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say it’s possible to catch the disease COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, “but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”

This story was originally published March 8, 2020 at 6:29 PM.