US reports 19 more coronavirus deaths, New York declares state of emergency

Coronavirus epidemic claimed two more lives in Washington state taking the nationwide death toll 19 and the number of confirmed cases only in New York rose to 89 on March 7. In the wake of the rising number of COVID-19 cases, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency in the state.

State of emergency declaration allows expedited procurement of cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer and other essential resources. It also allows expedited personnel onboarding, procurement of testing supplies and equipment, and qualified professionals other than doctors and nurses to conduct testing.

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'No price gouging'

Cuomo said in a statement that the state of emergency declaration gives the administration certain powers to help local health departments that are very stressed. He added that they are also cracking down on price gouging and warned businesses of cancelling their license saying they are “very serious” about it.

Read: Trump 'not Concerned' As Coronavirus Cases Rise In DC Area

Coronavirus epidemic has become a major concern around the world as the more than 100,000 cases have been confirmed globally. The worst affected countries are China, South Korea, Iran, and Italy with around 3,500 deaths due to COVID-19. 

According to the latest report, 27 new deaths in China due to coronavirus infections have been confirmed, taking the total death toll because of the deadly virus to nearly 3,100. While most of the cases are from Hubei province of China and the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, other countries, including the United States, Iran, Italy, and South Korea, have also reported deaths related to COVID-19.

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