A flight attendant based in Los Angeles was diagnosed with the new form of coronavirus in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday after reporting symptoms to authorities.
CBS Los Angeles reported that the unnamed flight attendant, an employee of Korean Air Lines, is believed by South Korean authorities to have contracted the disease while servicing a flight between South Korea and Tel Aviv. Passengers on the flight included members of a church congregation at the center of the main outbreak in South Korea.
Thirty members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus have tested positive for coronavirus after one 64-year-old member of the congregation is thought to have originally contracted the disease from an unknown source. Officials have announced plans to test the church’s entire 215,000-member congregation.
Korean Air Lines closed its operations center at Seoul’s airport for cleaning and disinfecting, according to CBS Los Angeles.
News of the flight attendant’s illness comes a day after a U.S. soldier stationed in Korea was also diagnosed with the coronavirus.