Current Situation: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak
A novel (new) coronavirus was first detected in late December in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and is causing an outbreak of respiratory disease in countries around the world. On February 11, 2020, the World Health Organization named the disease coronavirus disease 2019 (abbreviated “COVID‑19”).
Chinese health officials have reported tens of thousands of cases of COVID‑19 in China, with the virus reportedly spreading from person-to-person in parts of that country. COVID‑19 illnesses, most of them associated with travel from Wuhan, also are being reported in a growing number of international locations, including the United States. Some person-to-person spread of this virus outside China has been detected. The United States reported the first confirmed instance of person-to-person spread with this virus on January 30, 2020.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed multiple cases of novel coronavirus 2019 in people under federal quarantine at JBSA-Lackland in San Antonio. The first was a traveler who returned on a U.S. State Department-chartered flight from Wuhan City, China. The others returned on a State Department flight for passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined in Yokohama, Japan. Most of the travelers have completed their quarantine period and returned home. Some individuals who tested positive will remain isolated until they test negative for the virus and are no longer at risk of spreading it. The CDC has the latest information on the number of people under quarantine who are infected and is updating its national numbers each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Those cases are not included in the Texas case count.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is working closely with CDC in monitoring the developing outbreak. See the CDC website for the latest developments on COVID‑19:
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (CDC)
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Contact Us
If you have any questions or would like more information about the content on this page, contact by email or by phone:
Email: coronavirus@dshs.texas.gov
DSHS COVID‑19 Call Center: 1-877-570-9779
Hours: 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., Monday – Friday
For local assistance, see the listing of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‑19) Local Health Entities.
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This page is being updated as new information becomes available.