Following the reports that 12 people onboard a Nile river cruise ship were positively tested for COVID-19, Egypt has announced 33 new cases, while 17 individuals that were onboard the vessel have returned to Houston.
Now, it is stated that the individuals that returned to Houston after travelling with the Nile river cruise trip on February 12 through March 5, may have been exposed to COVID-19.
12 people in Houston have since been positively tested for COVID-19, in addition to one new individual that was identified on March 8. The new case is a 60-70 year-old female from an unincorporated area outside of Houston. She has been classified as a presumptive positive case pending confirmation by the CDC. She is in stable condition and has been quarantined.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner commented that
This new case in Houston is not unexpected because it’s among the same group of international travellers associated with other cases in the Houston area. There remains no evidence of community spread, no need to alter our normal activity in Houston and certainly no reason to let fear grip our lives.
Concluding, it is supported that all cases are related to the same travel abroad to Egypt.
