The governor of the state of Washington, Jay Inslee, announced this Sunday the emergency proclamation after finding the first deceased by coronavirus throughout the United States.
“This is a time to take proactive common sense measures to ensure the health and safety of those living in the state of Washington,” he said in a statement.
“The people of Washington can be sure that we have taken this threat seriously and have been working in collaboration with our health care partners to develop plans and procedures for what could be a global pandemic.”
The victim was a neighbor of King County, said Washington Department of Health spokesman Jamie Nixon.
Until Saturday, 66 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the United States, including nine patients who would already be recovered and four “suspect” cases that have tested positive in a first test in the absence of a second confirmation.
The new coronavirus originated in the city of Wuhan, in the Chinese province of Hubei. The disease has killed more than 2,780 people in the Asian giant and has left more than 78,000 infected, according to the latest assessment of the Chinese health authorities. Worldwide there have been 2,869 deaths so far, with Iran as the second country with the most deaths.
