California monitoring 8,400 people for coronavirus

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Thursday that 33 people in California have tested positive for coronavirus, with officials monitoring more than 8,400 people for the virus.

Newsom said during a press conference that five people who tested positive have since moved out of the state as officials deal with the spreading virus.

One of those people is from an unknown source, raising the concern that the virus is spreading among the general public for the first time in the U.S.

“We knew this was inevitable,” Newsom said.

The governor said those being monitored for the virus are in 49 local jurisdictions in the state.

NEW: California Gov. Gavin Newsom says 28 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 are currently living in the state: “We have 33 confirmed positive tests for the virus. Five individuals have subsequently moved out of state.” https://t.co/YLZA2m6M2m pic.twitter.com/NvdddWPJem

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 27, 2020

California officials had previously said there were 31 positive cases of coronavirus in the state, with more than two dozen other cases confirmed in other parts of the country.

Newsom said his top priority is expanding the ability to do tests for the virus, saying the state currently only has and “inadequate” 200 testing kits.

He said his team spoke to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday and they assured the state that many more tests will soon be made available.

“We are not overreacting nor are we underreacting to the understandable anxiety many people have,” Newsom said.

The first case with an unknown source drew added attention because the CDC initially declined to do a test for coronavirus because the case did not match the criteria of having returned from an affected country or come into contact with someone known to have it.

California officials said they don’t know if there are more cases of doctors requesting tests but not getting them, but that the one announced Wednesday “is obviously giving the CDC a lot to consider” in changing its protocols for testing.