Coronavirus: 2nd Person Dies In U.S.; New Cases Reported In Florida And New York

A second person has died from COVID-19 in the U.S., officials in Washington state say. With new coronavirus cases being reported in several states, a woman wears a medical mask during a campaign rally for Sen. Bernie Sanders in California.

By Bill Chappell

March 02, 2020

The coronavirus has killed a man in Washington state, making him the second person to die from COVID-19 in the U.S. The man was in his 70s and had been living at a nursing facility near Seattle that is now suspected of being the site of America's first outbreak of the coronavirus.

News of the man's death came one day after officials in Washington state reported the state's first death from the coronavirus — also in King County.

At the facility the man was in, Life Care Center of Kirkland, dozens of other people have shown symptoms of respiratory infection. The nursing center northeast of Seattle says anyone with symptoms is being isolated under infection control protocols. And as it awaits results of coronavirus tests, the center also notes that at this time of year, cold and flu-like symptoms are common.

There are currently at least 86 cases of the coronavirus in the U.S., according to a tracking tool created by the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering. The coronavirus is also spreading to more states, with health officials in Florida, New York and Rhode Island reporting new cases on Sunday.

"Florida has 2 presumptive positive #COVID19 cases," the Florida Department of Health says via Twitter. "One adult resident of Hillsborough County and one adult resident of Manatee County. Both individuals are isolated and being appropriately cared for."

The New York case involves a woman in her 30s who had recently traveled to Iran and is now isolated in her home. While she has symptoms of COVID-19, she is not in serious condition and "has been in a controlled situation since arriving to New York," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement about the case.

In the Rhode Island case, the patient "is in their 40s and had traveled to Italy in mid-February," the Rhode Island Department of Health said. It added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to trace people who were on the patient's return flight to the U.S.

In a worrying sign that coronavirus cases will likely continue to grow in the U.S., cases that involved "community spread" – people who become infected with no known connection to overseas travel — have now been reported in California, Washington state and Oregon.

Including the two deaths that were reported over the weekend in Washington state, there have now been 10 confirmed cases of the dangerous new coronavirus in the Seattle area, according to the public health agency for Seattle and King County.

"A team of CDC officials is on-the-ground" in King County to help the local effort, according to Public Health – Seattle & King County.