More than 700 people in D.C., Maryland and Virginia have now been diagnosed with coronavirus and health officials say the virus has killed at least 13 in the region.
The virus has infected a broad range of people, from elementary-school-age children to elderly nursing home residents.
For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms including fever. shortness of breath and cough. Recovery might take about two weeks. Severe illness including pneumonia can occur, especially in the elderly and people with existing health problems, and recovery could take six weeks in such cases.
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Thirteen people in D.C., Maryland and Virginia have died from COVID-19, health officials say. That includes a 59-year-old D.C. man who had been fighting leukemia, three Virginia women in their 80s, and a Prince George's County man in his 60s who suffered from underlying medical conditions.
As of Tuesday, 776 cases of coronavirus had been announced. D.C. had 137 cases, Maryland had 349 and Virginia had 290.
A Metrobus driver, two D.C. veterans, a Maryland police officer, several firefighters and several D.C. children are some of the latest to test positive for coronavirus. The youngest person to have contracted coronavirus is a one-year-old D.C. resident.
The Metropolitan Police Department said Monday that a second police officer tested positive for the virus and was recovering at home.
A U.S. Secret Service employee tested positive and is in quarantine. The Secret Service said the employee has not had contact with any other employees or protectees for nearly three weeks.
A TSA worker at Dulles International Airport also tested positive for COVID-19, according to the TSA's website. The employee last worked Friday, March 13 at the East Screening Checkpoint. It's not known where the TSA worker resides.
Local, state and federal officials say they are working together to minimize the spread of the virus.
Virginia: 290 Cases Confirmed
More than 250 people have tested positive for the virus in Virginia. Seven people in the state have died of COVID-19, health officials say.
Virginia officials on Tuesday announced the virus was spreading through communities. The state also announced its first case in a nursing facility.
Three Virginia women from Newport News, Williamsburg and James City County, all in their 80s, were hospitalized and died from respiratory failure related to COVID-19, officials say. One lived in a long-term care facility, officials said.
It's not known how each of the women contracted the virus.
The Virginia peninsula has been hit hard by the global pandemic and James City County is the center of one of the state's three outbreaks, meaning two or more cases can be traced to a common exposure, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday. The other two were in Richmond.
A teacher at Lynbrook Elementary School is among those who have tested "presumptive positive," Fairfax County Public Schools said in a letter to parents Saturday night.
The Virginia Department of Emergency Management confirmed an agency employee tested positive for COVID-19.
A U.S. Marine who is assigned to Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County and lives at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Prince William County was the state's first diagnosed case.
A patient in Arlington County was "associated with Christ Church in Georgetown," where Washington, D.C.'s, earliest cases were found, county officials said.
Two patients in Fairfax County are "close contacts to a case identified in North Carolina," the county government said. One is a man in his 60s whose spouse previously tested positive. The other is a man in his 20s.
One of the Fairfax City residents to test positive is a man in his 80s who went on a Nile River cruise and began to develop symptoms on Feb. 28, officials said. He was hospitalized March 5. His spouse later tested positive.
One Arlington patient is in their 60s and "developed fever, cough and shortness of breath after having returned from international travel," the state health department said.
A Loudoun County resident in their 40s tested positive after "attending Christ Church Georgetown," the county announced. The resident is a member of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, the county fire chief confirmed. "No other personnel who were in contact with this member are known to be experiencing any symptoms," the chief wrote.
"The positive test result is considered a presumptive positive, pending confirmatory testing by CDC. The patient is currently doing well and is isolated at home," the county said.
Additionally, health officials urged congregants and visitors to the Immanuel Chapel of the Virginia Theological Seminary to monitor themselves for symptoms after the organist at Christ Church Georgetown who has the virus spent time there.
Dozens of patients previously tested in Virginia came back with negative results for COVID-19.
DC: 137 Cases Confirmed
D.C.'s confirmed cases reached 137 on Monday. The majority of the new positive cases were people under 40 years old, with the youngest a 1-year-old girl and the oldest a 73-year-old woman.
A 65-year-old woman and a 59-year-old Franciscan friar have died from COVID-19 in D.C.
A rector in his 50s at Christ Church Georgetown was the first person to test positive. He had "no history of international travel and no close contacts with a confirmed case," Bowser said. A 39-year-old organist at the same church later tested positive.
Anyone who attended the church on six dates in February and March was told to self-quarantine for 14 days because of possible exposure to the virus.
Another of the D.C. patients is a man from Nigeria. According to the mayor's office, the man, who is in his 50s, traveled to D.C. and then went to Maryland, where he went to a hospital with symptoms.
Other D.C. patients who were among the first to be diagnosed include: a 77-year-old man who attended a conference held in Boston last month by the biotechnology company Biogen; a 59-year-old man with a history of travel to a Level 3 country; a 58-year-old woman who attended a conference in the District where other positive cases were identified; a 39-year-old man with a history of travel to a Level 3 country; a 24-year-old man with no known exposure; a 59-year-old woman who had contact with a previously identified case in the District and a 69-year-old woman with no known exposure.
Maryland: 349 Cases Confirmed
349 people have tested positive for the virus in Maryland as of Tuesday morning. Three Maryland residents have died from the virus, including a Prince George's County man with preexisting medical conditions in his 60s.
A Prince George's County Public Schools employee is among the latest to test positive. The employee works at Oxon Hill Development Center and does not have contact with students, the school system said. The health department is notifying all employees who may have been in close contact with the person.
One of the confirmed positive cases is a 5-year-old girl from Howard County.
Montgomery County has the most cases with 107 people who have tested positive for the virus.
A Baltimore County man in his 60s who had underlying medical issues was the state's second death related to the coronavirus, Gov. Larry Hogan said Friday evening.
On Wednesday evening, officials announced the state's first coronavirus-related death. A Prince George's County man in his 60s died, Gov. Larry Hogan said.
One case in the county is an employee at the National Institutes of Health. A statement from NIH said the employee was not involved in patient care and was doing well at home under self-quarantine.
"While this is an unfortunate development, it is not surprising, and NIH expects that there will be more cases of infection among NIH staff," NIH said in a news release.
NIH said the person was asymptomatic at work, which is believed to lower the risk of transmission.
Howard County officials reported Sunday that the county's first case of coronavirus was a woman in her 80s who has underlying health conditions and is a resident at the Lorien Elkridge nursing home facility. The patient was hospitalized and the facility is notifying all residents, staff and family members. Check here for more information.
A woman in her 50s who lives in Prince George's County contracted the virus on a trip to Boston, County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said.
Two other Prince George's County residents were diagnosed after returning from a cruise. Information was not released on where they traveled.
Three people in Montgomery County who were the first patients in the area to be diagnosed after they took a cruise in Egypt, on the Nile River, have fully recovered and can return to their daily lives. They are a woman in her 50s and a married couple in their 70s, who did not travel as a group.
A Montgomery County resident in his 60s and a woman in her 60s also later tested positive after visiting Egypt, Hogan said.
"This case is connected to the same Egyptian cruise ship as five of the state’s previous positive cases," the governor said in a statement.
A Harford County woman in her 80s also caught the virus while traveling abroad. She visited Turkey, Hogan said. The Turkish Embassy said the woman had a "brief stopover" in Istanbul and flew from Albania.
A Montgomery County man in his 20s recently traveled to Spain.
A Baltimore County man in his 60s worked at AIPAC in D.C., which was attended by others who tested positive.
Quarantines & School Closures
Public schools across D.C., Maryland and Virginia willl close for some period of time in the coming days, and many churches are telling congregants to stay home. Here's the latest on closures, cancellations and postponements.
What to Know About Coronavirus
More than 300,000 cases of the new virus have been confirmed worldwide, hitting China and Europe particularly hard. Hundreds of people in the U.S. have died.
Coronavirus is a family of illnesses that include the common cold and the flu and more serious illnesses including SARS. The COVID-19 virus is still being studied, but doctors say symptoms can include those similar to the cold and flu, including mild to severe respiratory symptoms.
Health officials urge people to socially distance and take typical precautions against spreading germs. Stay home unless absolutely necessary. Avoid contact with others. Self-quarantine for two weeks if you have any symptoms of coronavirus, including cough, fever and shortness of breath.
Wash hands often; use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol; don't touch your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands; avoid close contact with anyone who is sick; cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and disinfect frequently used objects and surfaces.
Officials say one of the best ways to prevent becoming ill is to wash your hands frequently.
If you believe you may have coronavirus, call your health provider before you visit so they can prepare and prevent the further spread of germs.
If you believe you may have coronavirus, call your health provider before you visit so they can prepare and prevent the further spread of germs.
Correction (Monday, March 23, 2020): This post has been corrected to reflect an accurate count of the number of deaths in the D.C. region.
