U.S. declares Coronavirus public health emergency

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has declared a public health emergency for the Coronavirus.

The announcement came via White House press briefing on Friday afternoon.

This decision comes just hours after the CDC made the decision to put a mandatory 14-day quarantine in place for Americans who arrived into March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County on a flight from the Coronavirus origin, Wuhan, China.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization issued its own public health emergency. Thursday also marked the first instance of the Coronavirus spreading from patient to patient in the U.S., when it spread between two people in Chicago, Illinois.

The Wuhan flight arrived into March Air Reserve Base Wednesday morning. 196 total passengers were on board.