RAYMONDVILLE — A 4-year-old has become the first case of coronavirus confirmed in Willacy County.

On Thursday, Mayor Gilbert Gonzales said health officials were not releasing the child’s sex or home town in this sparsely populated farming area.

However, he said the child’s infection was not related to travel.

The state health department’s Region 11 offices is conducting an investigation to determine whether others have contracted the virus, Frank Torres, the county’s emergency management coordinator, said.

“The individual’s family has been notified and is being treated and (officials are) following up with an investigation to determine who’s been in contact with the person or persons infected,” Torres said. “They’ve been put under quarantine.”

Torres urged residents to follow federal guidelines recommending they keep six-foot distances between themselves and others to help prevent the spread of the virus.

“We have to make sure we practice social distancing to keep this from spreading,” Torres said.