Officials reassured the student body that no one in the USC community had been diagnosed with or evaluated for coronavirus. As fears over the new strain of coronavirus spread rapidly, so does misinformation. While some of the false reports about coronavirus diagnoses involved misinformation, others appeared to be deliberate hoaxes. There is NO CURRENT THREAT to public health from the Coronavirus in Los Angeles County. Other telltale signs of forged communications include grammatical errors and rambling prose, said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the L.A. County public health director, adding that updates will come from public health departments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 02, 2020 12:56 UTC