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Coronavirus: US records second death in Seattle, experts say virus may have been in Washington for weeks

The man in his 70s had underlying conditions and was being treated at EvergreenHealth hospital in Kirkland. This is the same facility where officials identified the US’s first coronavirus death
UPDATED MAR 19, 2020
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

A second person, a man in his 70s, has died in the US from COVID-19 in King County near Seattle, Washington. 

The news was confirmed by the Public Health—Seattle & King County. The victim had an underlying health condition and was being treated at EvergreenHealth hospital in Kirkland. This is the same facility where a man in his 50s, who also had underlying health conditions, died during the weekend. 

The Washington State Department of Health also confirmed the two deaths and reported 13 confirmed cases of COVID-19 - including 10 in King County and three in Snohomish County. The Department said that 231 were under public health supervision.

“The number of people under public health supervision includes those at risk of having been exposed to novel coronavirus who are monitoring their health under the supervision of public health officials. This number includes close contacts of laboratory-confirmed cases, as well as people who have returned from China in the past 14 days and are included in federal quarantine guidance,” said the department in a statement.

EvergreenHealth Medical Center. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

On March 1, the Public Health – Seattle & King County had announced the total of confirmed cases as six. 

“This number is expected to rise as more people are tested and results confirmed. The two new cases are a male in his 60s, hospitalized at Valley Medical Center in Renton. The man has underlying health conditions and is in critical but stable condition; and a male in the 60s, hospitalized at Virginia Mason Medical Center. The man has underlying health conditions and his status is critical,” said the health officials in a statement. 

“Four other cases, already reported earlier by Public Health, include - a woman in her 50s, who had traveled to South Korea; recovering at home; a woman in her 70s, who was a resident of Life Care in Kirkland, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth; a woman in her 40s, employed by Life Care, who is hospitalized at Overlake Medical Center; and a man in his 50s, who was hospitalized and died at EvergreenHealth,” said the statement. 

The long-term care facility at Kirkland - Life Care Center with 180 staff and 108 residents - is now being closely monitored. Health officials said that at least 50 people in the facility are sick and are being tested for the virus. 

“As of now, we still have one associate and one resident who has been diagnosed with COVID-19. They are receiving treatment at local hospitals. Those are the only two confirmed cases involving our facility at this time,” reads a statement from Life Care Center.

It says, “Current residents and associates are being monitored closely. As can be normal this time of year, there are various cold and flu-like symptoms being exhibited from residents and associates. The health department has advised us to monitor for an elevated temperature, cough and/or shortness of breath.”

Any residents with symptoms are placed in isolation. Associates are screened before beginning work and if they show symptoms, they are sent home.

“In addition to the above infection control strategies, all visits to the facility from families, volunteers or vendors are not allowed. The facility has placed a hold on admissions as well to fully focus on our current residents and associates. Our frontline associates are focused on resident care and we are thankful for their commitment today and every day,” said the Center.

Antonia Lopez, a contract phlebotomist, takes a break from her work at Life Care Center of Kirkland, a nursing facility where more than 50 people are sick and being tested for the COVID-19 virus. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Virus may have been spreading for weeks 

As the cases pile up in Washington, researchers said that the new coronavirus may have been circulating in Washington for six weeks undetected.

They examined the genomes of two coronavirus infections in Washington State. According to the analysis, the genetic similarities between the state's first case on January 20 and a case announced Friday, February 28, indicated the newer case may have descended from the earlier one.

Trevor Bedford, a scientist from the University of Washington, who was involved in the analysis, tweeted, “I believe we're facing an already substantial outbreak in Washington State that was not detected until now due to narrow case definition requiring direct travel to China.”

“The team at the @seattleflustudy have sequenced the genome the #COVID19 community case reported yesterday from Snohomish County, WA, and have posted the sequence publicly to http://gisaid.org. There are some enormous implications here. This case, WA2, is on a branch in the evolutionary tree that descends directly from WA1, the first reported case in the USA sampled Jan 19, also from Snohomish County. This strongly suggests that there has been cryptic transmission in Washington State for the past 6 weeks,” said Bedford.

More cases detected across the US

With new cases confirmed in the US, the total number of Americans infected with COVID-19 has crossed 80. The cases identified over the weekend were in Washington, California, Illinois, Rhode Island, New York, Florida, and Oregon.

Travelers wear protective mask as they walk through in terminal 5 at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

A person in New York has tested positive for COVID-19, Governor Andrew Cuomo confirmed on Sunday, March 1. 

The patient, a woman in her late thirties, contracted the virus while traveling abroad in Iran and is currently isolated in her home, the governor said in a statement. The patient has respiratory symptoms, but is not in a serious condition and has been in a “controlled situation” since she arrived in New York.

“We have learned of the 1st positive case of COVID-19 in NY. The patient contracted the virus while in Iran & is isolated. There is no reason for undue anxiety — the general risk remains low in NY. We are diligently managing this situation & will provide info as it becomes available,” he tweeted

“There is no cause for surprise, this was expected. As I said from the beginning, it was a matter of when not if there would be a positive case of coronavirus in the US,” said Cuomo. 

Meanwhile, in California, two healthcare workers in the San Francisco Bay area who cared for an earlier coronavirus patient were diagnosed with the virus on Sunday, the Alameda and Solano counties confirmed. 

The health care workers are both employed at NorthBay VacaValley Hospital in Vacaville, California and had exposure to a patient treated there before being transferred to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, the statement said. That patient was the first person in the US discovered to have contracted the coronavirus with no known overseas travel.

“We have received confirmation that two members of the NorthBay Healthcare team who were exposed to a patient with coronavirus have tested positive for the virus. The two individuals have been notified of the test results and they will remain in isolation, either at home or in the hospital, depending on their medical needs,” said Aimee Brewer, President, NorthBay Healthcare Group, in a statement.

“We took immediate and comprehensive measures intended to stop any further spread of the virus, including working with public health officials to trace the contacts the two workers may have had,” said the statement. 

A young fan makes use of a hand-sanitizing station at CenturyLink Field before an MLS soccer match between the Seattle Sounders and the Chicago Fire on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Elsewhere, three new cases of coronavirus were reported in Chicago and Rhode Island (two cases) on Sunday. One hospitalized patient in Rhode Island is a man in his 40s who had traveled to Italy in February. Health officials in Rhode Island also announced Sunday that a second person in that state tested positive for coronavirus after returning from a school trip to Europe - a female teenager who is at home with mild symptoms.

Florida announced two presumptive positive COVID19 cases - one adult resident of Hillsborough County and one adult resident of Manatee County. Both individuals are isolated and being appropriately cared for, said authorities. 

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