5 cases of coronavirus in Houston area linked to foreign travel

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, left, speaks as Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, and Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of Harris County Public Health, right, listen about the first two cases of coronavirus in Harris County during media conference at Houston Transtar Thursday, March 5, 2020 in Houston. One man and one woman in the unincorporated area of northwest Harris County tested positive for COVID-19, according to county officials. Both patients, and the man in Fort Bend county that tested positive for COVID-19, had traveled together to Egypt. less Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, left, speaks as Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, and Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of Harris County Public Health, right, listen about the first two cases of coronavirus in ... more Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff Photographer Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 21 Caption Close 5 cases of coronavirus in Houston area linked to foreign travel 1 / 21 Back to Gallery

Local officials late Thursday reported two additional presumptive positive cases of COVID-19, one in the county and the other in the city.

In the city's case, a man between 60 to 70 years old is experiencing "mild symptoms." He is currently self-quarantined at home. In a news release, the city said there is still no evidence of community spread. The other case involves a man, also between 60 and 70 years old. He is from an unincorporated area in northwest Harris County and is hospitalized in stable condition.

Earlier, county officials announced one man and one woman in the unincorporated area of northwest Harris County tested positive for COVID-19. The tests have been verified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, authorities said.

That brings the total to four confirmed cases of new coronavirus in Harris County.

The news comes one day after a Fort Bend County man tested positive for COVID-19, the first non-imported case in the area. He is 70 years old and is isolated at a local hospital and in stable condition.

All five had traveled together to Egypt, health officials said. One of the Harris County patients is an employee at Rice University.

Harris County officials emphasized that more than 80 percent of people who have contracted COVID-19 worlwide have experienced only mild to moderate symptoms and fully recover.

“People at higher risk for serious complications are the elderly and those with underlying health conditions,” the county statement said.

They urged residents to take sensible measures to protect against the spread of COVID-19 with sensible measures: washing hands, avoiding touching your face, avoiding close contact with people who are sick, covering your mouth when you sneeze or ocugh, and disinfecting surfaces often.

Houston’s public health lab gained a single test kit to analyze samples on Wednesday, allowing the city to conduct its own tests instead of sending samples to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. The kit has the capacity to test 700 specimens suspected of carrying the disease, enough for about 200 to 400 patients.

The Fort Bend case was confirmed at that lab.

Reporter J.R. Gonzales contributed.