US coronavirus death toll hits nine as Washington state reports three more fatal cases
- Trump weighing further overseas travel restrictions to counter spread of disease
- New York state confirms second infection, a 50-year-old man who has not recently visited countries hardest hit by outbreak
The number of people with the novel coronavirus in the United States climbed on Tuesday with Washington state reporting three more deaths, as authorities worked on preventing its spread and the central bank acted on Tuesday to protect the economy from the impact of the global outbreak.
The Washington State Department of Health said the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases there now stands at 27, including nine deaths, up from 18 cases and six deaths on Monday. All of the fatalities in the United States from the illness associated with the virus were in the Pacific northwest state.
In New York, a man in his 50s who lives in a New York suburb and works at a Manhattan law firm tested positive for the virus, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the state to two, local officials said.
He has severe pneumonia and is hospitalised, officials said. The patient had not travelled to countries hardest hit in the coronavirus outbreak, which began in China in December and is now present in nearly 80 countries and territories, killing more than 3,000 people.
US President Donald Trump told reporters his administration may cut off travel from the United States to areas with high rates of coronavirus, but said officials were not weighing any restrictions on domestic travel.