The first death in the United States of Covid-19 was announced Saturday by Washington state health officials. The development, first reported by the Associated Press, comes soon after four people on the West Coast were reported to have the virus who had no known travel history and no known contact with anyone who’d previously been diagnosed.
These cases took place in Northern California; in Snohomish County, north of Seattle; and outside of Portland, Oregon, and sparked concerns that the virus could be spreading furtively through communities in the Pacific Northwest, passing from person to person undetected because it doesn’t necessarily make individuals sick.
Health officials are now scrambling to identify more cases to try to stop further transmission. The California Department of Public Health, for instance, announced Friday that it would “immediately receive an additional shipment of kits to test up to 1,200 people. This means California public health officials will get test results sooner, so that any patients will get the best care.”
Few details were provided about the death.
“CDC is aware of the situation in the state of Washington and we have been in close contact with local health officials,” said a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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Maybe this person will be tested and treated much earlier even if had underlying medical conditions. Remdevisir proves effective. If it was given at early stage, maybe he will survived.
Someone in CDC who made the decision not to use WHO test kit and develop their own should be fired with pension cancelled. WHO test kit had bit tested and coronavirus was moving fast. Why the hell does one what to develop something new when there is not enough time.