19 Dead In US Due To Coronavirus As States Intensify Efforts To Combat Infection Spread, NY Declares Emergency

The death toll in United States (US) due to novel coronavirus touched 19 as many states intensified their efforts to combat the rapidly spreading viral infection.

Two people have died in Florida, one in California and 16 in Washington state as hundreds of cases of infection surged around the country.

New York State

New York state governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency on Saturday (7 March) with 89 confirmed cases of coronavirus cases in the state, including 12 in New York city.

18 New York City residents are under mandatory quarantine and 2,255 are under voluntary quarantine, city Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

One of the new city cases is a 33-year-old Uber driver from the Rockaways who worked on Long Island; he is in isolation in Queens hospital in “serious” condition, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Other cases include two more family members of an Upper West Side man who contracted the virus and a Brooklyn man in his 30s who is in serious condition.

The Uber driver, who city officials said has an underlying respiratory issue, is being treated at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway.

Washington State

In the worst-hit Washington state, state officials confirmed 102 novel coronavirus cases including 16 deaths, as of Saturday morning.

Of the 16 confirmed deaths in the state, 14 have been associated to Life Care Center of Kirkland, according to Public Health – Seattle & King County. The nursing home has been linked to at least 48 total confirmed cases.

Florida

Two people have died due to coronavirus in Florida, according to the state’s Department of Health. These patients were both elderly individuals with underlying health conditions and recent overseas travel history. Florida health authorities also announced two additional cases, bringing the total number of infections in the state to 13.

Grand Princess Cruise Ship

Move than 3500 board the Grand Princess cruise ship were held offshore this week amid an outbreak of the disease on board. Their two-week journey from San Francisco to Hawaii was interrupted on its return leg on Wednesday when officials learned that a California man who had traveled on that ship last month contracted coronavirus and died this week. The ship is about 50 miles off the coast of San Francisco

According to reports, Twenty-one people, including 19 crew members, have tested positive so far for the disease. The U.S. Coast Guard delivered gloves and face masks, among other equipment, to the ship Friday evening.

A critically ill U.S. passenger and a travel companion were transported to a shoreside medical facility by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter for treatment unrelated to coronavirus.