There are 100 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as state and local governments.
According to the CDC, there are 48 cases from repatriated citizens. According to CNN Health’s tally of US cases that are detected and tested in the United States through US public health systems, there are 52 cases in 11 states. Bringing the total of coronavirus cases to 100.
This includes presumptive positive cases that tested positive in a public health lab and are pending confirmation from the CDC, and confirmed cases have received positive results from the CDC.
Here’s a breakdown of the 52 US cases:
- Arizona – 1
- California – 18
- Florida — 2
- Illinois — 4
- Massachusetts —1
- New York — 1
- Oregon — 3
- Rhode Island — 2
- Washington state — 18 (includes 6 fatalities)
- Wisconsin — 1
- New Hampshire — 1
Four more people have died in a coronavirus outbreak in Washington state, bringing the total fatalities there to six.
These are the first deaths due to Covid-19 on US soil. Washington declared a state of emergency over the weekend.
Five of the deaths occurred in King County, where Seattle is the main city.
There are now 18 confirmed cases in the region, where there are growing fears it may spread further.
Researchers who studied the first two Washington deaths had said the virus may have been spreading there for weeks, and suggested that up to 1,500 people may have been infected.
What’s the latest from Washington state?
Kathy Lofy, Washington state’s health officer, said cases were confined to two counties – King and Snohomish – but that it was possible it was spreading elsewhere.
She said the virus was “actively” spreading in those two counties.
Eight of the 14 cases, and four of the deaths, in King County are linked to one care facility. Most of those who died were elderly or had underlying health conditions.
King County is to buy a hotel so it can isolate the growing number of patients in the region. More schools in the Seattle area closed on Monday as cases increased.
Dr Jeff Duchin, the chief health officer for the Seattle and King County Public Health agency, said there would be no widespread school closures at this stage, nor would major events be cancelled. But, he said, the number of cases is expected to increase.
“We are taking this situation extremely seriously,” he said.
What’s happening elsewhere in the US?
The weekend brought a sharp rise in the number of cases, raising concerns. Some patients are believed to have travelled to high-risk countries, while others are thought to have contracted the virus from within the US.
Officials on the US west coast – in Washington, California and Oregon – have expressed concerns about infections appearing in patients who had not visited an area where there was an outbreak or been in contact with anyone who had.
The federal government has admitted to problems with its diagnostic testing amid the rise in cases. A top federal scientist has raised concerns about a possible contamination in an Atlanta lab where the government had made test kits for the virus, Axios reports.
Elsewhere in the US on Monday:
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state’s first case was a 39-year-old female health care worker who had been in Iran before returning to the US last week
- The woman did not take public transportation and is not believed to have been contagious either on the plane or in the car returning home. Her spouse, also a healthcare worker, is being tested
- Officials in Florida said a man in his 60s and a woman in her 20s who had returned from northern Italy had tested positive
What’s happening around the world?
The world is in “uncharted territory” on the coronavirus outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
Deaths globally have passed 3,000. Most are in China but there are now far more new infections outside China than inside.
One of the countries worst affected outside China – Italy – saw a big jump in its death toll from 34 to 52 on Monday.
