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 The death toll from the respiratory illness rose to 12 in the United
States, with the latest fatality recorded in King County,
Washington, where six people have died in an outbreak at a nursing
facility in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland.
“President Trump wanted me to be here today to make it crystal clear
that we are with you. We are here to help,” Vice President Mike
Pence said during a visit to the Seattle area, where he met with
Governor Jay Inslee and other state officials.
At least 57 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed nationwide on
Thursday as the virus struck for the first time in Colorado,
Maryland, Tennessee and Texas, as well as the city of San Francisco.
At least several people suffering from the virus are said to be
gravely ill.
A helicopter flew testing kits to a cruise liner idled off the coast
of California and barred from docking in San Francisco after at
least 35 people developed flu-like symptoms aboard the ship, which
has been linked to two other confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Twenty new cases were confirmed in King County, which is home to
Seattle and has been the site so far of the greatest concentration
of coronavirus cases in the country, bringing the total in the
county to 51 with 11 deaths. One death has been recorded in
California.
"This is a critical moment in the growing outbreak of COVID-19 in
King County," the county said in a statement. "All King County
residents should follow public health recommendations. Together, we
may potentially impact the spread of the disease in our community."
As in other countries, Americans faced a new reality where they were
often asked to stay home from work, schools were closed, large
gatherings and sporting events canceled, and stores emptied of
staples like toiletries and water.
Alphabet Inc's <GOOGL.O> Google on Thursday joined Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O>,
Facebook Inc <FB.O> and Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> in recommending that
its employees in the Seattle area work from home, after some
contracted the virus.
The companies' work-from-home recommendation will affect more than
100,000 people in the area. One school district in the area has
closed.
NEW YORK CASES DOUBLE
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the number of cases in that
state had doubled to 22 after the federal government approved its
use of additional laboratories, boosting testing capacity.
Of the new cases in New York, eight are connected to a Manhattan
lawyer who lives in Westchester County, north of the city,
previously diagnosed with the virus.
Texas and Maryland each confirmed three coronavirus cases, and
Tennessee and Colorado each reported one, bringing the number of
affected states to 17. Pence said that there were at least 150 cases
of coronavirus in the country.
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More than 3,200 people worldwide have died from the respiratory illness that can
lead to pneumonia.
The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed an $8.3 billion bill to combat the outbreak
96-1, a day after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved it.
Pence said Trump would sign the bill into law Friday.
More than $3 billion of that money is intended for research and development into
vaccines, test kits and treatments. There are no so far no approved vaccines or
treatments for the illness, which began in China and has infected more than
95,000 people in some 80 countries and territories.
California, which has declared a statewide emergency in response to the
outbreak, reported six new cases, including two in San Francisco also deemed
likely to be a result of "community transmission," local health officials said.
U.S. health officials say they expect to be able to get enough privately
manufactured coronavirus tests, around one million, to public laboratories this
week with the capacity to test about 400,000 people.
CDC official Anne Schuchat said her agency would also supply kits by the end of
the week that could test around 75,000 people.
"Right now, it is a challenge if you are a doctor wanting to get somebody
tested," U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters
following a briefing with lawmakers.
Pence, who is leading the U.S. response, urged Americans not to purchase masks
if they are healthy in order to free up supply for healthcare workers and people
who are sick.
"Unless you are ill, you have no need to buy a mask," Pence said on a visit to
Minnesota's 3M Co <MMM.N>, which has ramped up production of masks in response
to the coronavirus.
The deepening crisis has hit stocks hard. The main U.S. stock indexes closed
down more than 3% on Thursday, with the Dow falling 969 points.
Asked if the coronavirus outbreak has hurt the economy, Trump said at a townhall
in Scranton, Pennsylvania: “It certainly might have an impact. At the same time,
I have to say people are now staying in the United States spending their money
in the U.S., and I like that.”
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles, Nathan Layne, Maria Caspani, Michael
Erman, Jonathan Allen and Hilary Russ in New York, Susan Heavey and Lisa Lambert
in Washington, D.C. and Jeff Mason in Fort Murray, Washington; Writing by Sonya
Hepinstall and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Bill Berkrot, Bill Tarrant and Leslie
Adler)
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