CHOP cardiologist in King of Prussia tests positive for COVID-19; prompts school closures

CHOP cardiologist in King of Prussia tests positive for COVID-19

A cardiologist working for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has tested positive for COVID-19. FOX 29's Jennifer Joyce reports.

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. - A cardiologist working for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia outpatient facility in King of Prussia has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, officials announced Monday.

Officials say the cardiologist is currently being cared for at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and recently traveled out of the country. The doctor resides in Upper Merion Township.

Numerous schools, including Lower Merion School District, announced closures due to possible exposure to the coronavirus.

According to the Lower Merion School District (LMSD), two students and a staff member may have been exposed to COVID-19 during visits to the CHOP facility in King of Prussia. Those students and the staff member will be under quarantine for 14 days.

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As a precaution, all LMSD schools will be closed on Tuesday, March 10, for sanitizing. Special attention will be given to public spaces and high-touch surfaces, such as keyboards, railings and door handles.

The CDC said the three individuals pose no risk of transmission since they are not showing any symptoms, according to the LMSD.

"However, out of an abundance of caution," Superintendent Robert Copeland wrote in a statement, "All LMSD schools will be closed on Tuesday, March 10, for additional sanitizing.

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Pennsylvania has 10 presumptive positive cases of coronavirus: seven in Montgomery County, one in Delaware County, one in Wayne County and one case in Monroe County.

On Friday morning, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed a disaster declaration to grant state agencies more freedom to use resources to respond to the virus, the administration said. Officials in Delaware and Montgomery counties signed similar disaster declarations.

The map below illustrates where confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus exist across the world. See mobile version here.

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