Here are the latest figures:There are now more than 93,000 cases of coronavirus worldwide across 77 countries and territories, according to the World Health Organization.More than 80,000 confirmed cases are in China.There have been 3,198 deaths worldwide.126 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed in 13 states, according to CNN.Eleven people in the U.S. have died, 10 in Washington state and one in Placer County, California. Five had ties to the same Seattle-area long-term nursing home.As the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus climbed to 10, the CDC said it has “heightened” concerns and urged local communities to begin thinking about ways to stop the virus from spreading.”As more areas see community spread, local communities may start employing tools that encourage social distancing,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a Tuesday news conference. “The goal of social distancing is to limit exposure by reducing face-to-face contact and preventing spread among people in community settings.”There are now 126 coronavirus cases across 13 states. Eleven people have died — 10 in Washington state and one in California. Health officials in Placer County, California, announced the state’s first death. The patient was reported to be an elderly patient with underlying health conditions. Officials said that close contacts of the patient have been quarantined and are being monitored. Nine of the Washington deaths were reported to be in the same county. Five had ties to Life Care Center, a long-term nursing home in a Seattle suburb. At least 50 residents and staff members of the center were experiencing symptoms and were tested for the virus, King County health officer Jeffrey Duchin said Monday.The center’s outbreak and a series of new cases over the past few days in states including Florida, Georgia and Rhode Island “have heightened our concern for certain communities in the U.S.,” Messonnier said.”What is happening now in the United States may be the beginning of what is happening abroad,” she said. “We will continue to maintain for as long as practical an aggressive national posture of containment.””That said, you might see some local communities taking specific actions to mitigate the disease,” she added.Communities begin working to curb spread of virusGovernments, businesses and religious organizations in the states with the largest outbreaks have already taken steps to do so, canceling large events and encouraging people to avoid touching one another.Earlier this week, Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee said the state was looking at ways “we can prevent the spread through large groups.””We have numerous groups, nonprofits and others that are starting to think about whether it makes sense to carry on with some of the larger get-togethers,” he said Monday.In Seattle, the Catholic Archdiocese urged anyone feeling sick to “stay home from Mass” and told church-goers to “avoid hand-to-hand contact during Our Father.””Our response to this spreading virus must reflect how we, as disciples of Jesus, express our love of God and neighbor,” Seattle’s Catholic Archbishop Paul Etienne wrote in a March 2 letter to parish leaders.Etienne also urged that “holy water should be removed from fonts.”There have been 27 cases of coronavirus reported in Washington state.The same number of cases have been reported in California, where Santa Clara County officials urged higher-risk residents Tuesday to avoid “mass gatherings such as parades, sporting events and concerts where large numbers of people are within arm’s length of one another.”Last week, Google announced it was canceling its upcoming Google News Initiative Global Summit — its biggest event of the year — “due to concerns around the coronavirus.”The two-day event, held in Google’s Sunnyvale, California, office, would have brought together hundreds of people in the media industry.Any American with a doctor’s order can now be testedThe 126 coronavirus cases across the U.S. include both confirmed cases and presumptive positives: cases that tested positive in public health labs but are still awaiting confirmation from the CDC.The number also includes 45 repatriated citizens from the Diamond Princess cruise ship — which docked in Japan last month after an outbreak and quarantine — as well as three people repatriated from Wuhan, China.The number of U.S. cases has continued to rise since health officials allowed more labs to conduct tests for the virus.The CDC said Tuesday, public health labs across the country using CDC test kits were expected to test up to 75,000 people by the end of the week. That’s on top of the nearly 1 million people expected to be tested through commercial labs that were approved for testing by the US Food and Drug Administration over the weekend.Last week, health officials also loosened the guidelines on who should be tested for the virus. The change came after the first confirmed coronavirus case of unknown origin, a patient who wasn’t initially tested because they didn’t meet existing CDC testing guidelines.On Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence announced that any American, with a doctor’s order, can now be tested.The new CDC criteria calls for “Americans (to) be tested (for coronavirus), no restrictions, subject to doctors’ orders,” Pence said Tuesday describing the new policy.
Here are the latest figures:
- There are now more than 93,000 cases of coronavirus worldwide across 77 countries and territories, according to the World Health Organization.
- More than 80,000 confirmed cases are in China.
- There have been 3,198 deaths worldwide.
- 126 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed in 13 states, according to CNN.
- Eleven people in the U.S. have died, 10 in Washington state and one in Placer County, California. Five had ties to the same Seattle-area long-term nursing home.
As the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus climbed to 10, the CDC said it has “heightened” concerns and urged local communities to begin thinking about ways to stop the virus from spreading.
“As more areas see community spread, local communities may start employing tools that encourage social distancing,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a Tuesday news conference. “The goal of social distancing is to limit exposure by reducing face-to-face contact and preventing spread among people in community settings.”
There are now 126 coronavirus cases across 13 states. Eleven people have died — 10 in Washington state and one in California.
Health officials in Placer County, California, announced the state’s first death. The patient was reported to be an elderly patient with underlying health conditions. Officials said that close contacts of the patient have been quarantined and are being monitored.
Nine of the Washington deaths were reported to be in the same county. Five had ties to Life Care Center, a long-term nursing home in a Seattle suburb. At least 50 residents and staff members of the center were experiencing symptoms and were tested for the virus, King County health officer Jeffrey Duchin said Monday.
The center’s outbreak and a series of new cases over the past few days in states including Florida, Georgia and Rhode Island “have heightened our concern for certain communities in the U.S.,” Messonnier said.
“What is happening now in the United States may be the beginning of what is happening abroad,” she said. “We will continue to maintain for as long as practical an aggressive national posture of containment.”
“That said, you might see some local communities taking specific actions to mitigate the disease,” she added.
Communities begin working to curb spread of virus
Governments, businesses and religious organizations in the states with the largest outbreaks have already taken steps to do so, canceling large events and encouraging people to avoid touching one another.
Earlier this week, Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee said the state was looking at ways “we can prevent the spread through large groups.”
“We have numerous groups, nonprofits and others that are starting to think about whether it makes sense to carry on with some of the larger get-togethers,” he said Monday.
In Seattle, the Catholic Archdiocese urged anyone feeling sick to “stay home from Mass” and told church-goers to “avoid hand-to-hand contact during Our Father.”
“Our response to this spreading virus must reflect how we, as disciples of Jesus, express our love of God and neighbor,” Seattle’s Catholic Archbishop Paul Etienne wrote in a March 2 letter to parish leaders.
Etienne also urged that “holy water should be removed from fonts.”
There have been 27 cases of coronavirus reported in Washington state.
The same number of cases have been reported in California, where Santa Clara County officials urged higher-risk residents Tuesday to avoid “mass gatherings such as parades, sporting events and concerts where large numbers of people are within arm’s length of one another.”
Last week, Google announced it was canceling its upcoming Google News Initiative Global Summit — its biggest event of the year — “due to concerns around the coronavirus.”
The two-day event, held in Google’s Sunnyvale, California, office, would have brought together hundreds of people in the media industry.
Any American with a doctor’s order can now be tested
The 126 coronavirus cases across the U.S. include both confirmed cases and presumptive positives: cases that tested positive in public health labs but are still awaiting confirmation from the CDC.
The number also includes 45 repatriated citizens from the Diamond Princess cruise ship — which docked in Japan last month after an outbreak and quarantine — as well as three people repatriated from Wuhan, China.
The number of U.S. cases has continued to rise since health officials allowed more labs to conduct tests for the virus.
The CDC said Tuesday, public health labs across the country using CDC test kits were expected to test up to 75,000 people by the end of the week. That’s on top of the nearly 1 million people expected to be tested through commercial labs that were approved for testing by the US Food and Drug Administration over the weekend.
Last week, health officials also loosened the guidelines on who should be tested for the virus. The change came after the first confirmed coronavirus case of unknown origin, a patient who wasn’t initially tested because they didn’t meet existing CDC testing guidelines.
On Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence announced that any American, with a doctor’s order, can now be tested.
The new CDC criteria calls for “Americans (to) be tested (for coronavirus), no restrictions, subject to doctors’ orders,” Pence said Tuesday describing the new policy.
