A man in his 50s tested positive for coronavirus the first presumptively confirmed case in the US capital and another person who travelled through the city has also tested positive in Maryland, officials said.

According to AP, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said the man in the initial case started exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 in late February.

He was admitted to a Washington hospital on Thursday and appeared to have no history of international travel and no close contacts to any other confirmed cases across the US, Bowser said.