Washington confirms the first COVID-19 death in the United States

Saturday, February 29, 2020 - 15:10 in Health & Medicine

The death occurred somewhere in King County, Washington. (Pexels/)On Saturday, Washington Health Department officials confirmed the country’s first death due to COVID-19, a disease caused by a novel strain of coronavirus thought to originate in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.“It is a sad day in our state as we learn that a Washingtonian has died from COVID-19,” Governor Jay Inslee said in a statement on Saturday. “Our hearts go out to his family and friends. We will continue to work toward a day where no one dies from this virus.”State officials are expected to provide more details at a press conference at 4 p.m. Eastern Time.Local news reports that King County, Washington, which is where the fatality occurred, has confirmed several new cases of COVID-19 since Friday. The United States currently has 66 known cases of COVID-19, which includes several recovered patients and four “presumptive positives” based on local testing...

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