A new coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China in December of 2019 and is currently referred to as novel coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV. Novel coronavirus is very concerning because it’s new to humans and because it can cause serious infections, including pneumonia.
On January 21st, 2020, the Washington Department of Health announced the first case in the United States of 2019 nCov in a resident of Snohomish County, WA who had traveled to Wuhan recently. At this time, the risk to the general public locally is considered to be low, given that there is only one case identified in Washington.