Washington Governor Declares State of Emergency After First US Death From Coronavirus
This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). This virus was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via AP
The governor of Washington state declared a state of emergency Saturday after a man died there of COVID-19, the first such reported death in the United States. Health officials say the man who died was in his 50s, had underlying health conditions.
More than 50 people in a nursing facility are sick and being tested for the virus. A woman in her 40s who works at the facility and a resident in her 70s have tested positive for the virus.
Officials in California, Oregon and Washington state are worried about the novel coronavirus spreading through West Coast communities because people are being infected by unknown means.
The U.S. is banning travel to Iran in response to the outbreak of the new coronavirus. And it's elevating travel warnings to regions of Italy and South Korea.
President Donald Trump says 22 people in the U.S. have been stricken by the new coronavirus and more cases in the United States are "likely."
Trump provided an update on the virus after the first reported death in the U.S. on Saturday. He described the victim as having a high medical risk.
Trump encouraged Americans not to alter their daily routines, saying the country is "super prepared" for a wider outbreak and "there's no reason to panic at all."