2.2MILLION in coronavirus-struck Washington county told to stay home after nine deaths and 31 cases there – The Sun

MORE than two million people have been told to stay home after nine coronavirus deaths in one county in Washington.

Officials in King County are urging residents, especially those with "underlying health conditions," to avoid large gatherings.

There have been 31 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the county, which contains Seattle and has a population of about 2.2 million.

Health officials urging residents to stay home say this is a "critical moment" in the outbreak.

"We understand these actions will have a tremendous impact on the lives of people in our community," officials said in a press release.

"We are making these recommendations in consultation with CDC based on the best information we have currently to protect the public's health."

The groups that are especially at risk include people over 60, people with underlying health conditions, people who have weakened immune systems and people who are pregnant.

"Workplaces should enact measures that allow people who can work from home to do so," officials said.

"Taking these measures can help reduce the number of workers who come into contact with COVID-19 and help minimize absenteeism due to illness."

Home-bound parents will also likely be forced to keep their children out of school as well.

"Closure of the school" remains an option, according to officials.

The majority of the 10 Washington deaths came at the Life Care Center nursing home in Kirkland in King County.

The total number of coronavirus deaths in the greater Seattle area has now risen to 10, with at least four of those residents from the same nursing home.

It was revealed Wednesday night that a Facebook employee in Seattle has been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

The death toll in the US has ballooned to 11, and many states are struggling to deal with the outbreak.

NEW YORK

MORE than 1,000 people have been told to go into quarantine in New York after a lawyer, 50, infected his family and neighbor with coronavirus.

The attorney's family and the neighbor who drove him to hospital all tested positive, doubling the total number of cases in NY to 11 – but there are fears more people may have been exposed.

The attorney – whose wife, daughter, 14, son, 20, and neighbor were all diagnosed – could reportedly be responsible for exposing hundreds of people to the virus.

NY Governer Cuomo also announced that the lawyer had infected five members of one family who came into contact with him in Westchester, as cases surge to 11 in-state.

Ten of the 11 cases in New York are now reportedly linked to this lawyer after Cuomo revealed about 1,000 people who had close contact with infected patients will be self-quarantining.

State officials also confirmed the lawyer had an "underlying respiratory illness" before contracting coronavirus and is currently in the ICU unit at New York-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville.

Yeshiva University – where his son was a student – canceled all of its classes and his daughter's Jewish SAR school also closed its doors on Wednesday, Cuomo revealed.

NYS Department of Health Commissioner Dr Howard and Cuomo told reporters they knew the lawyer had infected these people due the way the symptoms presented.

In New York, 300 CUNY students and staff in China, Italy, Japan, Iran, and South Korea will be brought back to the US as a precuationary measure amid the ongoing outbreak.

Beth Garvey, the Senior Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs and General Counsel for the State University of New York, said state officials were identifying dormitory settings for those affected.

A healthworker was also diagnosed with the deadly disease there before shocking footage also emerged of a man wearing a protective mask collapsing on a sidewalk in Queens amid coronavirus fears.

CALIFORNIA

California also announced its first death – a patient who had recently returned from a Golden Princess cruise that departed from San Francisco to Mexico before being isolated at a medical center.

Cali Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency after the 71-year-old's death – as the Golden Princess ship was held off the coast while as many as 21 passengers and crew were tested.

The elderly patient who died had underlying health conditions and passed away at a California hospital.

He was not identified.

It was also revealed that a medical screener at LAX is one of six new cases in the Golden State.

The airport screener, a contractor for Homeland Security, wore protective equipment. The person is being quarantined at home with mild symptoms.

The patient last worked at the airport on Feb. 21 and started feeling cold-like symptoms eight days later. The patient was tested on March 1.

No travelers at the Los Angeles airport have tested positive for the virus.
At least 53 people in California have been diagnosed.

DAMAGE CONTROL

Vice President Mike Pence said the government would utilitize every health agency to address the outbreak in a "whole-America approach" – which included increased standards in US nursing homes – and ensured testing would be available for everyone.

"I'm pleased to report we have more than 2,500 kits that are being distributed around the country this week which will make more than 1.5 million tests available," he said as Secretary Azar credited the "incredibly fast response" of the HHS, FDA, CDC.

Pence also revealed the government had approved a process for testing which would allow people to buy testing kits from their "local med check and CVS," as well as getting more protective masks for medical experts caring for them.

"We want every American to have access to testing, as soon as possible," said Pence, thanking Trump for the changes her directed through the FDA, allowing state and university laboratories to conduct testing.

Many companies, schools and local governments are being extra cautious to stop the spread, implementing travel restrictions as some firms instruct employees to work remotely.

There are over 94,000 cases worldwide and over 3,000 deaths stemming from the deadly disease which first emerged in Wuhan, China and rapidly spread all over the world.

The Trump administration said testing will be available to to all US citizens as Vice President Mike Pence assured Americans the threat to them remains "low" on Wednesday.

During the briefing, Trump said Obama “made a decision on testing that turned out to be detrimental,” adding "we have undone that decision."

President Barack Obama urged people to be vigilant about their hygiene.

He tweeted: "Protect yourself and your community from coronavirus with common sense precautions: wash your hands, stay home when sick and listen to the [CDC] and local health authorities.

"Save the masks for health care workers. Let’s stay calm, listen to the experts, and follow the science."

As cases mount around the country, the rapidly spreading virus has "mutated" into two strains – with the most aggressive infecting 70 per cent of patients, scientists claim.

Researchers in China said they had found two main types of the deadly disease that could be causing infections in the US and further afield.

A team from Peking University's School of Life Sciences and the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai under the Chinese Academy of Sciences have been analysing the outbreak since it first emerged in December.

As the number of coronavirus cases mounts, the FDA announced that as many as one million tests may be done by the end of the week.

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