WFLA

Virginia Department of Health investigating 3 potential cases of coronavirus

WAVY

Travelers wear face masks as they wait their flight at Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. Face masks sold out and temperature checks at airports and train stations became the new norm as China strove Tuesday to control the outbreak of a new coronavirus that has reached four other countries and territories and threatens to spread further during the Lunar New Year travel rush. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) – The Virginia Department of Health is investigating three potential cases of the coronavirus.

In a statement released Sunday afternoon, Virginia Department of Health officials say they are currently investigating three residents in the central and northern regions of Virginia who “meet both clinical and epidemiologic criteria for 2019-nCoV.”

According to the statement, two of the residents are from Central Virginia, while the other is from Northern Virginia.

Officials say the common coronaviruses can cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illness, like the common cold. Symptoms include fever, cough, and trouble breathing, and can appear anywhere from two to 14 days after exposure.

VDH officials are encouraging health care providers to ask patients about recent international travel and consider 2019-nCoV infection in patients who have traveled to Wuhan, China within 14 days of the onset of symptoms, including fever and respiratory symptoms.

With the recent rise of the respiratory outbreak first detected in Wuhan, China, VDH is reminding Virginia residents to take the precautionary steps to prevent respiratory illness: