Coronavirus outbreak: US reports second death with over 80 confirmed cases

Amid coronavirus outbreak, the United States authorities confirmed a second death in the Seatle area and also announced three other positive cases, taking the total number of cases in the country to nearly 88. According to international media reports, the person who died was a man in his 70s with underlying health conditions. He reportedly died in the same facility, Evergreen Health hospital in Kirkland, where officials had identified the nation's first coronavirus death. 

The public health leaders in King County, Washington reportedly said that the three other confirmed cases include a woman in her 80s, a woman in her 90s and a man in his 70s. The officials further added that all the new cases were in critical condition with underlying health issues and all were also residents of a nursing facility in Kirkland where two other people had previously tested positive. As per reports, the majority of the cases identified over the weekend included a mix of people who had travelled to high-risk countries and those who were believed to have contracted the disease domestically. 

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'US deaths could be imminent'

US President Donald Trump on Sunday also announced new coronavirus screening procedures for passengers travelling to the country. Trump said that the passengers travelling to US from certain designated high-risk countries will be screened twice, once before the departure and once after arriving in America. US has further restricted travel on its southern border with Mexico and it has also put an entry ban on travellers from Iran and foreign nationals who have visited Iran in the last 14 days are also banned to enter the country. 

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Vice President Mike Pence said that more US deaths could be imminent, however, he further added that Americans face a low risk from coronavirus. The director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr Anthony Fauci reportedly said that the fatality rate in US could reach the same level as in China because there is no vaccine or cure available as of yet. Furthermore, Dr Nancy Messonnier of the United States CDC said in a call with reporters on February 25 that a wider spread of coronavirus in the country is certain. 

First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across more than 50 countries since December 2019. According to reports, the death toll in China has also surpassed 2,900 and the National Health Commission also confirmed 202 new cases. The total number of confirmed cases within China has reportedly hit 80,000 and more than 88,000 worldwide.

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