Coronavirus: US reports total of six deaths, all in Washington state
- Officials from Washington state say the elderly and patients with underlying conditions are more likely to develop serious problems
- US Vice-President Mike Pence says risk to American public is low as US reports four more coronavirus fatalities
The United States reported four more deaths from novel coronavirus in Washington state on Monday, taking the nation’s death toll to six and making the northwestern state the focus of the country’s outbreak concerns.
Health officials from King county, which reported three more deaths, and Snohomish county, with one fatality, said in a briefing on Monday that the elderly and patients with underlying health conditions were more likely to develop serious problems, adding that most of the cases involved mild symptoms.
Several cases can be traced to a nursing care facility in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle in King county, where the first two deaths were reported.
In total, US has confirmed close to 100 cases of the coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, central China, in December.
The latest deaths followed the abrupt cancellation of a press briefing by Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official Nancy Messonnier.