WASHINGTON – A nearly 60-year-old woman with COVID-19 died in Washington state, state health officials said on Saturday, recording the first death reported in the United States by the new coronavirus.
–
State officials issued a brief press release announcing the death, but gave no details and announced a press conference. A spokesman for the EvergreenHealth Medical Center, Kayse Dahl, said the person died in the center, but gave no details.
At a press conference at the White House on Saturday, President Donald Trump described the deceased as a woman who was approaching age 60 and at high medical risk. He said healthy Americans should be able to recover if they get the new virus.
State and King County health officials said in their text that “more people with the infection have been identified, one of whom died.” They didn’t say how many new cases there are.
The number of cases for the new coronavirus in the United States is considered small. Around the world, the number of people sick with the virus was around 83,000 on Friday, and there were more than 2,800 deaths, most of them in China.
The death occurs after health officials revealed a second case of coronavirus in the United States in someone who had not traveled abroad or had not had close contact with someone who had the virus.
The US authorities were mobilizing on Saturday in a total prevention campaign against COVID-19 led by Vice President Mike Pence, just a few days after they said the country would have minimal consequences for the new coronavirus.
Health officials rushed to have the coronavirus screening tests ready in all states, while the Trump administration said it could resort to a defense law 70 years ago to ensure the availability of protective equipment in case of Let the disease spread.
– .
