Officials: Six dead in Washington state from coronavirus

Four more people died from the new coronavirus in Washington State, local officials said on Monday, bringing the total death toll in the western state and in the US to six.

The virus has particularly impacted elderly residents of the Life Care nursing home in the town of Kirkland near Seattle, where four of the deaths occurred.

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All six of the deaths occurred at the Evergreen Health Medical Center in the city of Kirkland, east of Seattle, while another 14 people were infected, officials said.

King County declared a state of emergency on Monday and is enabling “extraordinary measures” to fight the outbreak.

Officials said the people who died were elderly or had underlying conditions. The first person confirmed dead on Saturday was in his 50s. At least four others are in their 70s and 80s.

“This disease wasn’t even known to us two months ago, so we are still learning a lot about specific risk factors for disease,” King County health official Jeffrey Duchin said at a press conference.

US and global health officials have said they believe the virus is most serious for elderly people and those who pre-existing health conditions. Younger people and the healthy are likely to make a recovery, should they be infected.

“We have communities that are facing what the experts tell us, could potentially be a cluster,” Vice President Mike Pence said at a press conference on Monday.

“Depsite today’s sad news let’s be clear the risk to the American people of the coronavirus remains low,” Pence added. “We know there will be more cases.” 

There are 91 people in the US – spanning the east and west coasts – diagnosed with the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention.

A vaccine for the virus is likely only to be ready for deployment next year, health officials have previously said. (dpa)