BREAKING NEWS: Second person diagnosed with coronavirus in Lord Fairfax Health District – The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — A second person has been diagnosed with the coronavirus in the Lord Fairfax Health District.

Dr. Colin Greene, Lord Fairfax Health District director, said on Sunday that a woman in her 30s displayed mild symptoms of the virus and is self-quarantining. Citing her medical privacy, Greene wouldn’t say where she lives, but it is in the district, which encompasses Winchester and Clarke, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah and Warren counties.

The woman was tested last week after displaying symptoms and the positive test results came back Saturday night or early Sunday morning.

The first local case involving a man in his 60s, who was visiting the area, was diagnosed on Saturday. He is being treated at an area hospital, but Greene wouldn’t say which one, citing medical privacy.

The virus, for which there is no vaccine yet, was first discovered in China and declared a global pandemic on March 11. Through Sunday morning, it has killed 13,672 worldwide and infected 318,662, according to the John Hopkins University of Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center website. In the U.S., there have been 370 deaths as of Sunday afternoon. Virginia has 219 cases and three people have died in the commonwealth, with 3,337 people tested, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

To decrease the risk, Greene said people should stay inside other than for essential trips or exercise. When outside, people should maintain a six-foot distance from other people when feasible. The goal is to avoid breathing in respiratory droplets. 

Because only 66,000 people have been tested in the U.S. compared to about 300,000 in South Korea, the number of COVID-19 infections in the U.S. is likley far more than the number diagnosed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Reuters.

“There are other cases out there (locally) that we don’t know about almost certainly,” Greene said. “People everywhere need to take these restrictions seriously.”

Read Monday’s Winchester Star for more information.