Three confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus in Collin County

Three people have confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Collin County, officials said Tuesday.

McKINNEY, Texas - Three people have confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Collin County, officials said Tuesday. They are the first such cases in North Texas.

The confirmed cases involve the Frisco man announced on Monday as a "presumptive positive," his wife and their 3-year-old child.

The man is in his late 30s and contracted the coronavirus after recently traveling to California on a business trip. Frisco ISD said the man is a parent of at least one student at Tadlock Elementary School.

County officials are preparing in case more people get sick with the coronavirus in Collin County.

RELATED: Coronavirus coverage

Health officials said the family has four children. All of the kids and the parents have been tested along with a "close family contact." Two of the other children tested negative while a third child had an inconclusive test and is being re-tested.

“Our healthcare officials have already been working diligently to put together a contact list of everyone these individuals have been in contact with during their window of contagious time and have already been making contact to those individuals to tell them they need to monitor their own health and they need to self-quarantine,” explained Judge Chris Hill with the Collin County Commissioners Court.

Tadlock Elementary is going through deep cleaning during Spring Break this week, and Frisco ISD employees delivered boxes of hand sanitizer to the school Tuesday afternoon.

The county health department has contacted about 17-20 people who may have had contact with the man, mostly his family and coworkers. County officials credit the man's quick actions to get tested and self-quarantined that kept the list of people he had contact with small.

“If you haven't gotten a call already from the health department saying you've come in contact with someone, then you don't need to worry about that,” Hill said. “We already have communication protocols if they do actually feel more ill and feel like they have to be hospitalized. Transportation protocols, the hospitalization protocols, all of that has been in place.”

All seven people are described to be in "stable condition" and have not been hospitalized. They all remain in self-quarantine at their homes.

Officials said the father wasn't showing symptoms of the coronavirus on his flight home from California in late February and doesn't pose a risk to others who were on that flight. They added that the two school-aged children didn't have symptoms while classes were in session and weren't contagious when they were in the classroom.

The family is expected to stay in quarantine until they’re fully recovered.

As far as upcoming large events that may be considering cancellations, the county says it's up to organizers to make those decisions.

Coronavirus health tips

While COVID-19 is a new respiratory virus, daily precautions recommended to prevent respiratory illnesses are the same:

• Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use hand sanitizer when you can't wash your hands.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue and throw the tissue away. If you don’t have a tissue, use the elbow of your sleeve. Don’t use your hands to cover coughs and sneezes.

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

• Stay home when you are sick and keep children home when they are sick.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

• Get a flu shot. (Although the flu shot does not protect against COVID-19, it is flu season.)

Us Tx/collin County/frisco Coronavirus Health