A Los Angeles resident who attended last weekend’s American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. This, after two New York attendees were diagnosed with the virus last week. The pro-Israel lobbying conference drew 18,000 attendees to Washington D.C.
There are now 14 reported cases in Los Angeles county, reports NBC Los Angeles.
“Public Health is identifying persons who may have had close personal contact with this individual, including any friends, family members or health care professionals, to assess and monitor them for signs and symptoms of illness has begun. All confirmed cases are isolated and close contacts are quarantined for 14 days from last exposure,” the department said in their statement. “There are no known public exposure locations related to this case.”
Although the patient recently returned from the AIPAC conference, the department did not mention whether the individual contracted coronavirus at AIPAC or had it before attending the conference.
Other AIPAC attendees have not been instructed to go into quarantine after returning home from the conference.
In a March 7 email from AIPAC, attendees received a message from the DC Department of Health that said “Based on our investigation thus far, in collaboration with the New York State Department of Health (NYSDH), there is no identified risk to conference attendees at this time. All attendees and members of the public are urged to follow the well-established prevention tips like staying home if sick and calling ahead to a health provider if experiencing symptoms. We will work with AIPAC leadership to keep all attendees informed of any new developments.”
The Health Department also told attendees, that the two cases present at AIPAC were asymptomatic and have no identifiable risk for anyone exposed to them.
The current coronavirus cases include eight people who traveled to Italy, two employees who were screening passengers for the virus at Los Angeles International Airport, two relatives of someone outside the country who has the virus, one traveler of Wuhan, China, and now three AIPAC attendees.
