Washington state declares state of emergency after man dies of coronavirus in US

Washington: Governor Jay Inslee of the US State of Washington on Saturday declared a state of emergency after a man died of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country.

According to Mr Inslee, the state agencies and all departments need to coordinate with each other to tackle the situation in affected manner.

“This is a time to take common-sense, proactive measures to ensure the health and safety of those who live in Washington state,” Xinhua quoted Mr Inslee as saying.

The declaration came after a person has died from the COVID-19 in King County, Washington, the first death caused by the disease in the United States. It is not known how the patient was infected with the virus.

With the emergency measure, Inslee is able to deploy, if necessary, the Washington National Guard to combat the infectious disease.

Washington health officials announced two new cases of the COVID-19 in the state Friday night. The two patients include a student at Jackson High School in Mill Creek and a King County woman in her 50s, who recently traveled to Daegu, South Korea, the news agency further reported.

Washington reported the first COVID-19 case of the United States last month after a man in his 30s from Snohomish County tested positive for COVID-19 following his return from China’s central city of Wuhan.

More cases of the coronavirus disease of unknown origin have been reported in US western states, triggering concern about local person-to-person spread of the infectious disease.

California reported a second COVID-19 case of unknown origin in the US on Friday, while Oregon Health Authority said an elementary school employee tested coronavirus positive, though the person had no travel history nor close contact with infected individuals. The Oregon patient is the state’s first “presumptive” COVID-19 case ever reported.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States currently has 22 confirmed COVID-19 cases, while data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that there have been three cases of person-to-person transmission. (UNI)