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Local Congress Members Want More Coronavirus Info From CDC
Passengers wear breathing masks at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 29, 2020. Rebecca Nieto/LAist
A group of 14 Southern California congressmen and women headed by Representative Katie Porter has written to the CDC for more information about the local threat.
Porter’s district is home to a hospital treating one of California’s two confirmed novel coronavirus patients.
“I started to receive a lot of questions from neighbors, constituents and the community wanting to understand more about what are the best precautionary measures that people should be taking," she said.
Porter said she and her colleagues did get a briefing from the CDC this week focusing on the number of cases and potential for a vaccine, but she wants more details about what's going on here.
She also wants more outreach in different languages to account for Los Angeles and Orange counties’ diverse population.
The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Today the World Health Organization put out a statement declaring the outbreak a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern."
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In China, more than 7700 cases have been confirmed, and 170 people have died.
There are 82 additional cases confirmed in 18 countries.
The CDC's current count has 5 confirmed cases in the US.
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