Coronavirus America: Washington state confirms new deaths

A spate of new coronavirus deaths in the United States has been announced as the country grapples to respond to new outbreaks.

A medical worker wearing protective gear takes a rest as he waits for ambulances carrying patients infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus at an entrance of a hospital in Daegu. Picture: Yonhap/AFP

Washington state health authorities now say four more people have died from coronavirus, which brings the total death toll in the US to six.

At a news conference Monday (US time) Dr. Jeff Duchin from Public Health Seattle & King County said five of the deaths were people from King County and one was a person from Snohomish County, north of Seattle.

Researchers said earlier that the virus may have been circulating for weeks undetected in Washington state.

The outbreak, which began in Wuhan, China, has infected nearly 90,000 people around the world. More than 3000 people have died and more than 45,000 have recovered.

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South Korean soldiers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant as part of preventive measures against the spread of the COVID-19. Picture: YONHAP/AFP

It comes as the number of coronavirus cases in Italy climbs to 2036. Authorities reported that 52 people who had tested positive have died but stressed that all of them had pre-existing serious health problems, from cancer to kidney or heart disease, and nearly all were elderly, including many in their late 80s or early 90s.

So far, health officials have administered more than 23,000 swab tests in the country of nearly 60 million people.

National health institute officials said it could be 10 to 14 days before it is known if Italy’s restrictive measures, including quarantining 11 towns in the north, where nearly all the cases have been reported, is slowing the spread of the virus.

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A medical worker wearing protective gear takes a rest as he waits for ambulances carrying patients infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus at an entrance of a hospital in Daegu. Picture: Yonhap/AFP

Democratic and Republican aides in the US say negotiations on a bipartisan, emergency $7 billion to $8 billion measure to battle the new coronavirus are almost complete.

The measure appears on track to be unveiled as early as Tuesday, and the hope is to speed it quickly through both House and Senate by the end of the week.

The measure would finance both federal and state response efforts, fund the federal government’s drive to develop and produce a vaccine, and offer Small Business Administration disaster loans to help businesses directly affected by the growing coronavirus crisis.