Washington state declares emergency after first patient dies from coronavirus in US
Washington state declared a state of emergency Saturday only hours after a man in his 50s with underlying health problems was identified as the first person in the U.S. to die from the coronavirus outbreak.
Washington state public health officials said two additional confirmed cases of the virus are associated with a longterm care facility in the state. Officials said 27 patients and 25 staff members at the Life Care Center of Kirkland had reported symptoms similar to the coronavirus. The facility has 108 residents and 180 employees.
The two additional cases include a facility staff worker in their 40s, who was in satisfactory condition, and a facility resident in their 70s, who was in serious condition.
The patient who died was identified by state and county health officials as a man in his 50s. The patient was being treated at EvergreenHealth Medical Center in Kirkland, Washington, with serious respiratory issues, according to hospital spokesperson Julia Irwin.
Coronavirus spreads to Washington nursing home
One of the patients, a woman in her 70s, is in serious condition, said Jeff Duchin, Seattle and King County health officer. The other patient is a woman in her 40s who is health care worker at the facility, Life Care Center of Kirkland…………
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sending a team of experts to help local officials investigate the cases. Officials have already found that 27 of 108 residents at the nursing home report some symptoms of respiratory illness, Duchin said, and 25 of the 180 staff do, too. Health officials are investigating these cases but they don’t yet know if the people are sick with coronavirus.
People here have already begun panic buying; Girl Child reports shelves empty at the Fred Meyer store where they shop, especially hard hit were toilet paper and bottled water. On a local gossip blog a neighbor reports that N95 masks are for sale but shipping from the Amazon suppliers is in the hundreds of dollars, I looked at Ebray and found the same thing and it’s the typical gouging found during every disaster. Interestingly people who were trained in the CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams) program sponsored by the Sheriff and Fire Dept. don’t seem to be too worried.