BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency as coronavirus cases continue to rise.
Also, on Wednesday the Kern County Department of Public Health confirmed there are four residents being tested for the coronavirus.
Previously 14 county residents were being monitored after traveling with stops that included China. That number has now dropped down to three. The four residents being tested for the coronavirus are separate from the group of 14 county residents.
According to Michelle Corson, the spokesperson for Kern County Public Health Department, the department has begun a task force to monitor residents who have traveled internationally. Corson also announced the department will be sharing daily updates online.
There were also new developments on the virus in Los Angeles. A medical professional who has been screening passengers at Los Angeles International Airport has contracted the coronavirus.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it's unclear if the person contracted the virus through their work as a medical screener or from community transmission. The agency said no travelers screened at LAX have tested positive for coronavirus.
The person is a contractor for the Department of Homeland Security and is being quarantined at home and has mild symptoms.
The patient last worked at the airport on February 21st and began feeling cold-like symptoms on February 29th.
The patient's doctor tested them for coronavirus on Sunday.
Also, developing today The United States House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed an 8.3 billion dollar funding bill in response to the coronavirus. This marks the first major step by Congress to tackle the growing number of cases and deaths in the U.S.
Only two people voted against the bill with 415 voting in favor.
