Update (8:21AM IST): Jessica Guynn, senior technology writer at USA Today, tweeted that Steve Wozniak’s spouse, Janet, told the publication hours after her husband went public that she only had a sinus infection — not a case of COVID-19 as he originally thought.
It seems awfully irresponsible of Mr. Wozniak to have gone to the press with this news without properly checking his facts. Bryan Menegus at Gizmodo articulates this succinctly in his latest piece.
Our original story follows.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and his wife Janet may have been exposed to COVID-19 (coronavirus) during a recent trip to China.
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The first confirmed case of coronavirus in the US was reported on January 21. Woz says he and his spouse returned from their trip on January 4, meaning they could be among the first people infected with the virus to expose the general public to it in the US.
Checking out Janet’s bad cough. Started Jan. 4. We had just returned from China and may have both been patient zero in U.S. (@ West Coast Sports Institute in Santa Clara, CA) https://t.co/MRNHqithEU
— Steve Wozniak (@stevewoz) March 2, 2020
It’s unclear at this time if Wozniak has any symptoms or if his wife is displaying any other than a persistent cough. We’ll be following the story closely for details on their health – and hoping for the best. There’s currently no information to indicate that either actually have the virus, but it’s prudent for anyone showing even mild symptoms to get themselves checked out, especially if they’ve recently traveled to a high-risk area.
Interestingly, based on Wozniak’s tweet, it appears the 69-year-old and his wife are being seen at a sports medicine clinic in Santa Clara, California.
We’ve reached out to Apple and Woz U for commentary but didn’t receive an immediate response. We’ll update this story as more information becomes available.
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