Baylor student joins Texas A&M case being tested for coronavirus
![Staff wear face masks as they work at a hospital that reported a coronavirus death in Yichang in central China's Hubei Province. China is swiftly building a 1,000-bed hospital dedicated to patients infected with a new virus that has killed 26 people, sickened hundreds and prompted unprecedented lockdowns of cities during the country's most important holiday. [CHINATOPIX VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]](/gcdn/authoring/2020/01/24/NAAS/ghows-TX-fb59209c-744c-4828-80f9-125cbde4e2fe-1aa2f56a.jpeg?width=660&height=460&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
A Baylor University student who recently traveled to China is being tested for the deadly new coronavirus that has triggered health concerns around the globe, officials said Friday.
Baylor University officials on Friday said in a statement that the student had been moved to an isolated room on campus and was being monitored by local and state health officials.
The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District said officials are now waiting for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to release the student’s test results.
The student’s dorm room and residence hall was thoroughly sanitized, officials said.
Waco health officials have told the university that the immediate health risk for other students on the campus is low.
The Baylor University announcement comes a day after a Texas A&M University student also was being tested for the new coronavirus.
That student, who also recently traveled to the United States from China where the virus is believed to have originated, is isolated at home, Brazos County Health District officials said Thursday.
However, health officials have yet to release the Texas A&M student’s test results.
In China, hundreds of people infected with the new virus have fallen ill and 26 have died, The Associated Press reported. The first cases appeared last month in Wuhan, an industrial and transportation hub in central China.
Scientists have identified the illness as a new kind of coronavirus, a large family of viruses that can cause a range of illnesses from the common cold to severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS.
The first confirmed case of the coronavirus in the United States was a man from Washington state who returned home from a visit to Wuhan on Jan. 15. A second case in the United States was reported Friday. A Chicago woman in her 60s was hospitalized after returning from China, the AP reported.
Meanwhile, France announced two cases of the virus — the first in Europe.
More than 36 million Chinese people are now under a lockdown after more than 12 cities stopped all outbound flights, trains, buses and ferries, the AP reported.
This article contains material from the Associated Press.