Residents of a Northern California community are at the epicenter of what officials are calling a turning point in the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus, as investigators try to retrace the steps of a hospitalised woman they believe to be the first in the US to be infected without traveling internationally or being in close contact with anyone who had it.
As infectious disease experts fanned out in Vacaville, some residents in the city of 100,000 stocked up on supplies amid fears things could get worse despite official reassurances, while others took the news in stride.
The city lies between San Francisco and Sacramento in Solano County, in the agricultural Central Valley and near California's famous wine region.
It is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Travis Air Force Base, which has been used as a virus quarantine location.
Public health officials said they can find no connection between the infected woman and passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship who were evacuated to the base when the ship was docked in Japan.
The case of the infected woman marks an escalation of the worldwide outbreak in the US because it means the virus could spread beyond the reach of preventative measures like quarantines, though state health officials said that was inevitable and that the risk of widespread transmission remains low.
But McKinsey Paz, her husband and her boss at a Vacaville private security company weren't taking any chances.
Also Read
They hustled to a warehouse store Thursday to buy bottled water, canned food, staples like rice and beans and cases of toilet paper and paper towels.
"We're not sure what's going to happen. Panic seems to do that to you," Paz said.
"In case things get a little crazy, we didn't want to be the last ones. We're preparing for the worst."
That's the kind of confusion that concerns Paz, whose security company has already stockpiled 450 face masks and is scrambling for more "since they're hard to come by."
"We wipe the shopping carts if they have them, and when I get back in the car I wipe my hands and just hope for the best."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content