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Health officials in Virginia investigating three suspected cases of the deadly coronavirus that’s killed more than 80 people in China and sickened thousands of others around the world have since confirmed that two of the cases are negative.
Previously, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) on its website announced that two suspected cases in central Virginia and one case in northern Virginia met “both clinical and epidemiologic criteria for 2019-nCoV,” or the novel coronavirus that was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan, likely beginning at an animal and seafood market. But in an updated announcement provided to Fox News on Monday, health officials said the two cases in central Virginia were negative following confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Results for the third case in northern Virginia are pending and are expected later this week.
"At this time, Virginia continues to have no confirmed cases of Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV," officials said in the release. No other information was provided.
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“VDH is 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,” officials previously said.
The news comes after additional U.S. cases of coronavirus were confirmed over the weekend, bringing the nation’s tally to five. All cases were among people who traveled to Wuhan. Two new cases were reported Sunday, one in Los Angeles County in California and one in Maricopa County, Arizona.
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The three previously reported cases were a patient in Orange County, California; a man in his 30s in Washington state; and a woman in her 60s from Chicago.
The U.S. patients generally have been reported to be in good condition and were hospitalized in isolation for monitoring.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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