DETROIT – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is investigating three possible cases of coronavirus in the state.
Two of the possible cases are in Washtenaw County and the third is in Macomb County.
As of now, there are two confirmed cases in the United States -- one in Washington State and the other in Illinois. It comes as China is reporting more than 1,200 people are infected there with 41 dead.
People are heading to Detroit Metropolitan Airport on high alert. Local 4 was at the airport Saturday morning and spoke with a passenger.
“They are self isolated. They are not spreading germs to anyone,” said Lynn Sutfin, an official with the MDHHS.
But that is not stopping people from having some concerns at the airport.
“It is a lot of people in a confined area,” Larry Meyer, a Beijing, China flight passenger.
He was on a flight from Beijing and one of many people wearing a mask. “It was a personal choice for me to wear a mask, anything to be a little more preventative,” said Meyer.
During his flight a passenger got sick and because the flight was coming from China it prompted the flight crew to take extra precautions.
“They were asking if a doctor or nurse was on board and it was private so they didn’t say why,” Meyer said.
The flight crew alerted the Center for Disease Control and Prevention as a precaution.
Extra steps were taken when the plane landed too. “They asked us to remain seated, keep the seat buckles fastened, and not to open the overhead bins,” said Meyer.
Fortunately, the passenger is not believed to have the virus and no one had to be quarantined.
But with coronavirus spreading across China and making its way to the United States health officials in Michigan want people to be aware.
“There’s nothing that people need to panic about or worry about, they should continue to use precaution like they would any other health threat including the flu or common cold,” said Sutfin.
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