Coronavirus In LA? LAX-Bound Traveler Rushed To Hospital After Suffering Alarming Symptoms Amid Quarantine!

Masks on, El Lay!

A traveler who arrived at Los Angeles International Airport was rushed to a hospital for an evaluation early Thursday amid fear over an outbreak of the deadly coronavirus.

According to reports, the unidentified passenger (not pictured above) arrived at the airport on an American Airlines flight from Mexico City shortly before 6:40 p.m. Wednesday. The traveler was screened by officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the airport after the plane landed. Per their recommendation, an ambulance was called to bring the patient to a hospital.

While it’s unclear what specific symptoms the person was experiencing, American Airlines confirmed a passenger on one of its flights received medical attention at the airport, noting in a statement:

“The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority. We are in close contact with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health officials and will coordinate with them on any required health and safety-related measures.”

If the traveler had indeed contracted the pneumonia-like virus that’s currently causing mass panic in China, it would be the first confirmed case of the disease in California. Public health officials in LA County said Wednesday it was “very possible” the region would see at least one patient due to the number of people traveling between China and the El Lay area.

This wouldn’t be the first confirmed case in the US, though: that would be the man in Washington state who contracted the virus after returning to the US from the region around Wuhan, China, where the outbreak began.

Once back stateside, the man began to experience pneumonia-like symptoms and told his doctor about his travel history. Test results for the virus came back positive over the weekend.

As we reported, the virus has already killed at least 17 people in China and has infected over 600 others. Health officials in China originally claimed most patients in Wuhan contracted the virus from live animals in a seafood market, suggesting it didn’t spread directly from person to person. However, Chinese government scientist Zhong Nanshan since revealed on state television that the virus can be transmitted between humans.

So, Chinese officials are doing whatever it takes to prevent the spread of the virus:

Plane passengers on one of the last flights out of Wuhan get their temperature checked on arrival in Kunming as China tries to contain deadly new viral illness. https://t.co/xeVj1yhn1F pic.twitter.com/AxvbqRtKvr

— ABC News (@ABC) January 23, 2020