San Bernardino County on Sunday, March 15, reported its first case of novel coronavirus.

The patient is a 53-year-old woman who had returned from the United Kingdom sometime last week and presented herself to the Kaiser Fontana hospital emergency department on Thursday with symptoms “consistent with COVID-19,” a statement from the county said.

The county was told Sunday that results of a test for the virus were positive.

“The County Department of Public Health is working to identify the patient’s contacts to monitor them for signs and symptoms of the illness and to take measures to prevent transmission,” the statement said.

“We knew it was only a matter of time before we recorded our first case,” said Acting County Health Officer Dr. Erin Gustafson said in a statement.

“The health risk from COVID-19 to the general public in San Bernardino County remains low at this time, but everyone is strongly urged to engage in practices that reduce the risk of spread,” Dr. Gustafson said.

San Bernardino County on Tuesday declared a public health emergency to ensure they have what they need to prepare, even though at that time there were still no confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the county.