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Fifth U.S. Coronavirus Patient Confirmed In Arizona

Similar to the other American cases, officials say the patient in Arizona had recently returned from traveling to Wuhan, China.

Fifth U.S. Coronavirus Patient Confirmed In Arizona
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SMS

Health officials in Arizona confirmed Sunday a resident in Maricopa County has contracted the coronavirus. This brings the number of patients in the U.S. with the virus to at least five. 

Similar to the other American cases, officials say the patient in Arizona had recently returned from traveling to Wuhan, China.

The coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan. It's killed at least 81 people in China and sickened more than 2,800 others. Besides the U.S., patients have also been confirmed in several other countries including Thailand, Australia, France and Canada.

Because hospitals are having a hard time keeping up with the influx of coronavirus patients, Wuhan is in the process of rapidly building two new facilities to help. They'll have a combined capacity of about 2,300 beds. Both buildings are expected to be complete in early February.

Officials have frozen public transportation in and out of multiple Chinese cities to try to limit the spread of the virus. The Chinese government also extended the Lunar New Year holiday by three days in order to limit travel in cities not affected by the lockdowns.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Wuhan told CCTV Monday that he's willing to take responsibility for the virus and offered to resign.