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Public Health Officials Report No Further Spread Of Coronavirus; Say Risk 'Remains Low'

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A week after a Chicago couple who contracted coronavirus went home from the hospital, public health officials said Thursday there is no sign of any further spread of the disease in the area.

Officials also sought to allay any fears people might have about visiting the Chinatown neighborhood in Chicago, saying there is no reason for anyone to change their behavior because of the virus.

"The risk to the general public from this new coronavirus remains low at this time," said Dr. Allison Arwady, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

Coronavirus Update From Local Health Officials

Public health officials from the city of Chicago, Cook County, and the state of Illinois provide an update on their response to the coronavirus. https://cbsloc.al/378Mq3K

Posted by CBS Chicago on Thursday, February 13, 2020

The outbreak started in Wuhan, population 11 million. While there have been at least 1,370 deaths and more than 60,000 coronavirus cases worldwide, only about 400 of those cases and just three deaths have been reported outside of mainland China.

Last month, a Chicago woman who had recently returned from China became the first confirmed case of Coronavirus in the Chicago area. She later infected her husband.

The couple was released from a hospital in Hoffman Estates last week, and were allowed back home under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Arwady said, while the couple themselves are still being monitored, health officials have completed a period of monitoring of the their family and community contacts, and determined there has been no further spread of the disease.

While health officials said they could not discuss whether those two patients face any restrictions on their activities, they said the couple does not pose a health risk to anyone else.

"Nobody is at risk from getting the infection from these individuals or anybody else in that community," said Dr. Rachel Rubin, senior medical officer at the Cook County Department of Public Health.

Health officials also sought to combat any fears that people might have about visiting the Chinatown neighborhood in Chicago, where some restaurants and businesses reportedly have seen business drop as much as 50% since the first coronavirus case was confirmed in the region.

Arwady said there is no reason for anyone in the Chicago area to change their behavior; either by wearing masks in public, canceling events, or avoiding Chinatown.

"Please do not allow stigma, xenophobia, or fear to control your decisions. Chinatown and all of Chicago is open for business," Arwady said.

She noted Mayor Lori Lightfoot attended the Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown last week, and she said she and other city officials have shopped and dined in Chinatown in recent weeks without any fear of contracting the disease.

"We know that our Chinatown is very safe," said Mabel Moy, President of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce.

Moy said, while it was common to see people wearing masks in Chinatown immediately after the first confirmed case in Chicago was announced, she doesn't see many people wearing masks in the neighborhood anymore.

"We don't need to wear masks, we don't need to do anything abnormal, we should all live in a normal life, and we should go out to eat, we go out to shop, and just tell people that in our area we are very safe," she said.

Arwady also said, since coronavirus screening began at O'Hare last month, no travelers have been identified with fever or potential symptoms of the virus.

She said the overall number of travelers returning from China has dropped dramatically, due to quarantines and travel restrictions in china, a CDC recommendation to avoid travel to China, cancellation of most direct flights from China, and the federal government's decision to deny entry to anyone who has traveled to China in previous 14 days if not a citizen or permanent resident.

Typically a couple thousand travelers from China arrive each day at O'Hare, but that number has plummeted to around 100.

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