A longterm care facility in Kirkland, Washington, announced two coronavirus cases, one a woman in her 70s and another a healthcare worker, but there are dozens other reporting symptoms and awaiting test results.
"We are very concerned about an outbreak in this setting, where there are many older people," Jeff Duchin, a Washington state health official, told a media call Saturday.
The nursing home is the Life Care Center, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the amount of reported cases might increase soon.
Thus far, approximately 27 of about 108 facility residents and 25 of about 180 staff have some symptoms and are being tested, Duchin told reporters.
In an unrelated case, the first U.S. death from coronavirus was reported in Washington earlier Saturday, a man in his 50s with other health issues.
The man was eligible for testing for coronavirus from the CDC.
"If we had the ability to test earlier, I'm sure we would have identified patients earlier in the community, possibly at hospitals," Duchin said.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee promptly declared a state of emergency.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.