Trump announces first U.S. death from coronavirus, in Washington state

Federal and state officials announced the first coronavirus-related death on U.S. soil Saturday as President Trump said he will tighten his travel ban on Iran and warn Americans not to go to parts of South Korea and Italy.

The Washington state patient who died overnight was a man in his 50s with an underlying health condition who had not traveled to a place afflicted by the virus before getting infected, according to state officials.

He died north of Seattle at Evergreen Health Medical Center in Kirkland, Washington.

It is unclear what led to his infection since he hadn’t traveled to a hard-hit area. And he does not have a known link to another worrying situation in Kirkland — a potential outbreak in a long-term care facility.

An infected health care worker at the facility is doing well, but a resident in her 70s is seriously ill, state officials told reporters in a call hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Over 50 people have reported some kind of symptoms at the facility, split roughly equally between staff and residents. All told, the facility houses 108 residents and employs 180 staff members.

CDC officials said while they’re concerned about the cluster of cases in Washington State and other parts of the West Coast, the situation is limited and Americans should take basic precautions instead of panicking.

“While there is some spread in some communities, there is not national spread of COVID-19,” said Nancy Messonnier, a top CDC official.

Speaking at the White House, Mr. Trump said the U.S. government is prepared for anything as the outbreak progresses. It is ordering protective gear, pursuing a vaccine and placing its best experts on the job.

“They’re working round the clock,” Mr. Trump said.

He asked reporters and politicians not to overhype the situation, as the disease rattles markets and poses a key test for his administration in an election year.

“There’s no reason to panic at all. This is something that’s being handled professionally,” Mr. Trump said.

The CDC said it mistakenly referred to the deceased man in Washington state as a woman, leading him to refer to the patient as a female in a White House briefing before state officials clarified the gender in a conference call for reporters.

The coronavirus was discovered in China in December. It causes an illness known as COVID-19 that is mild in many people but can cause respiratory distress, organ failure and death, especially in older persons or those with underlying medical conditions.

It has sickened over 85,000 people around the globe and killed nearly 3,000.

Outside of China’s epicenter, South Korea has recorded over 3,000 cases, Italy reported over 1,000 and Iran is approaching 600, making them a trio of alarming hotspots around the globe.

Mr. Trump said his administration, which previously forbade visitors from Iran, will now bar any foreign national who visited the Islamic Republic within the last 14 days.

The State Department will issue a Level 4: Do Not Travel warning to parts of South Korea and Italy that have seen the most cases, the president said, a move that will likely have sweeping economic ramifications for both countries.

Specifically, the department’s website says travelers shouldn’t go to Daegu, the South Korean city that’s seen the bulk of cases, or to the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto, which are home to Milan and Venice, respectively.

Mr. Trump also said he is considering restrictions along the southern border, even though Mexico has only seen a handful of cases.

Domestically, Mr. Trump said investigators have now discovered 22 infections in the U.S.

While some patients have recovered, officials said four remain quite ill and the nation’s ordeal is far from over.

“Additional cases in the United States are likely,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump denied reports he is muzzling scientists like Anthony Fauci, of the National Institutes of Health, and said Democrats who’ve criticized the response are launching a “hoax.”

He said the epidemic itself is real and serious, however.

“It’s a tough one, but a lot of progress has been made,” Mr. Trump said.

The president said he wants the Federal Reserve to “do its job” and step in to alleviate some of the economic shocks caused by the outbreak.

Mr. Trump also took credit for restricting travel from China a month ago, saying it averting more cases.

Mr. Trump addressed the nation one day after Pacific Coast states announced a cluster of infections without any known link to travel from hard-hit areas, meaning the Americans were infected in the community.

The new cases include an Oregonian who worked at an elementary school in the Portland area. The school will be closed so it can be cleaned.

Also, officials in California are tracking down contacts of a 65-year-old woman in Santa Clara, California, who tested positive without traveling to a hard-hit area.

It’s the second case of “community spread” in California. A woman from Solano County is hospitalized in Sacramento.

Washington state also said a high school student in Snohomish County received a “presumptive” positive test for the virus, prompting a three-day school closure.

CDC Director Robert Redfield said is it fine for Americans to travel to California, Oregon or Washington state.