A Korean Air flight attendant, who worked on flights between Seoul and Los Angeles subsequently, tested positive for the coronavirus, South Korea’s disease control agency and sources said on Thursday.
What We Know:
- The flight attendant worked on Korean Air’s flight from Seoul’s Incheon airport to Los Angeles on Feb. 19, and on the return flight on Feb. 20, media outlets reported. A South Korean official familiar with the case verified those flight details, adding that between flights the woman had stayed in Los Angeles overnight.
- The flight attendant, described as being in her 20s, later tested positive for the virus, and she is currently in the hospital.
- “An investigation is under way about the places the patient visited and the people she had contact with,” the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
- Officials with LAX referred questions to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC did not respond to requests for comment.
- John Charles, 52, said he flew out of Shanghai in January but had to redirect his flight through Taiwan because flights out of China were canceled. “Everybody is wearing masks,” he said. “I want to keep it on because I keep track of the news and I saw how fast it spread in South Korea.”
- About 1,150 cases of coronavirus have been reported in South Korea, including a 23-year old U.S. service member stationed in the country.
- Mayor Eric Garcetti told reporters precautions against the coronavirus are also in place at the port complex, where crew members on cargo ships from Asian ports are not being permitted ashore.
Worldwide, more than 81,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, including 2,770 deaths, that vast majority of them in China. More than 50 cases have been confirmed in the United States, including one each in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
