UPDATE: Health officials have confirmed four additional deaths in Washington State, bringing the total number of deaths to six.
Original story:
Officials in Washington State confirmed a second death from the deadly novel coronavirus outbreak. The man, who was not identified, was a male in his 70s and had underlying health conditions, as did the other victim who died over the weekend. The latest patient to die was one of four new cases that were linked to a long-term nursing facility in Kirkland, Washington.
At least 50 residents and staff members at the Life Care Center have shown symptoms and are undergoing tests for the coronavirus, known as COVID-19. Washington Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency as the outbreak continues to spread.
There were 18 new cases in the United States announced on Sunday (March 1).
In New York City, health officials confirmed the first case of the virus in a woman who recently traveled to Iran. The woman is in isolation and authorities do not believe she was contagious on the plane. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo downplayed the threat and told people to "relax."
"Excuse our arrogance as New Yorkers," Cuomo said. "We think we have the best healthcare system on the planet right here in New York... We don't even think it's going to be as bad as it was in other countries."
The virus also popped up in Florida, prompting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to declare a public health emergency. Those patients will remain in self-isolation until they are cleared by health officials.
Chinese officials announced an additional 202 cases, bringing the total number of cases to over 80,000. They did offer some good news, pointing out the number of daily cases was the lowest since January 23, when they began introducing emergency measures to stop the viral outbreak from spreading. While it may be slowing in China, COVID-19 continues to spread around the world with 57 countries reporting cases. The illness has killed nearly 3,000 people.
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