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Six Coronavirus Deaths in Washington State; Isolation Centers to Open ‘When Is It Going to End?’: Where Coronavirus Has Turned Deadly in the U.S.
(about 2 hours later)
SEATTLE — Three more residents of a Washington State nursing care facility have died from coronavirus, officials announced on Monday, bringing to six the death toll in the United States and intensifying the crisis in this state, where the nursing facility in Kirkland has become a focus of illness and fear. SEATTLE — Movie nights have been canceled. Residents are restricted to their rooms, their meals delivered by workers in protective gear. Ambulances come and go, taking elderly patients who have fallen ill to the hospital two miles away.
All of the deaths in the country have occurred in Washington State in the last few days, and leaders in the Seattle area said on Monday that they intended to open isolation centers in an effort to contain an emerging coronavirus outbreak. Life Care Center, which advertises a “homelike and welcoming atmosphere” in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland, has become the focal point of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. Four of the six people who have died of the virus in this country were residents of the 190-bed nursing care facility. Several other residents and at least one employee have tested positive.
Four people who had been residents of the nursing center have died, and four other residents of the center as well as a worker there have learned they have the virus. Two other people, not connected to the center, have also died in Washington State, including a new death announced by officials on Monday. Relatives of those inside, urged to keep away, worry about who might be next.
Dow Constantine, the executive of King County, said he had signed an emergency declaration for the county, which was preparing to buy a motel in the Seattle area where people who were infected with coronavirus could stay to remain isolated. “When is it going to end?” said Debbie Delosangeles of Monroe, Wash. She has not been able to see or speak to her 85-year-old mother, who has dementia, since before some residents grew ill last week.
He said officials also were considering using modular housing units for residents in need of isolation but not hospitalization, as a way to free up access to medical facilities. “We need that hospital capacity for treatment,” Mr. Constantine said. Her mother has shown no symptoms, Ms. Delosangeles has been told, but that has not eliminated her concern. “Is it going to get way worse before it gets better? Are we going to be plagued with this problem for the next several months?”
More testing for the virus was expected across the region as Kirkland became a center of both illness and fear, much of it focused on the nursing facility, Life Care Center. On Monday, Washington State reported four fatalities associated with the coronavirus, bringing the death toll in the United States to six — all in Washington — and raising concerns that the cluster of cases in the Pacific Northwest could presage a much wider outbreak.
By Sunday, a quarter of Kirkland’s firefighters were in quarantine because they had been to the nursing facility. A nearby college spent the day cleansing its campus because students had visited the nursing home. The hospital has asked visitors to stay away. Across the region, leaders began taking extraordinary steps to contain the virus. Residents were warned to prepare for significant changes to their daily lives.
Dr. Kathy Lofy, the health officer of Washington State, said the state was ramping up testing capacity and could now handle about 200 requests each day. While much of the focus has been in the Seattle area, she said it was possible that cases could emerge elsewhere. “Given the movement of people around the state, it is possible the virus is spreading in other counties, too,” Dr. Lofy said. After declaring a state of emergency, King County officials announced highly unusual plans to purchase a motel that could be converted into an isolation center for people who get sick.
More than 90 people have been treated for coronavirus in the United States, and more than 18 of those people were in Washington State, including the first confirmed case of the virus, weeks ago; a high school student; and a man who died on Saturday, the first death tied to coronavirus on American soil. Get an informed guide to the global outbreak with our daily Coronavirus
In at least 12 of the Washington State cases, officials have said they were unaware of any connection to overseas travel that might explain the origin. Such cases signaled that the virus had spread within the United States, experts said. newsletter.
The fear and confusion at the nursing facility and throughout the county presented a vivid and disturbing picture of how much uncertainty surrounds the virus and how many people have the potential to be affected. A high-rise building in downtown Seattle was closed for precautionary cleaning.
The nursing facility in Kirkland, run by Life Care Centers of America, is full of older residents who can be especially vulnerable to respiratory illnesses. Records show that the center has a recent history of illness outbreaks and of difficulty observing infection control precautions. A school district canceled classes for more than 23,000 students on Tuesday to train employees on how to teach children remotely, should the outbreak worsen.
Relatives who had recently visited the facility said that it had been coping with illness among residents and staff in recent days, and that on Friday it told all residents to stay in their rooms. For a facility of communal living — with a shared dining center, group movie nights and friends who visit with one another in the halls — that decision prompted concerns among residents and families. Dr. Jeff Duchin, King County’s health officer, said a sudden uptick in infections in the state — 18 cases have been reported in Washington since Friday — indicates that coronavirus infections will likely surpass the flu in the coming weeks, straining the health care system. Eventually, he said, officials will have to shift their focus from individual cases to the most pressing clusters of people who are ill.
But even more troubling news followed on Saturday: A resident and an employee had tested positive for coronavirus. The facility later posted a statement on its website saying it had stopped allowing any visitors, including relatives and volunteers. “We are still trying to contain it at the greatest extent possible, but at the same time, we are pivoting to a more community-based approach,” Dr. Duchin said.
Dr. Chris Spitters, the health officer for neighboring Snohomish County, said officials there would consider a range of potential ways to contain the outbreak, including strategies that could expand to discourage or prohibit mass gatherings such as sporting events.
In the United States, 100 cases have been reported of the virus, which has left more than 3,000 people dead worldwide and sickened tens of thousands of others. In at least a dozen of the Washington cases, officials have said they were unaware of any connection to overseas travel that might explain the origin.
Health experts said that the increase in cases suggested that the virus has been spreading within the United States for a while, and would likely continue.
“The question is, is this a kind of local outbreak, or is this the first signature of a much larger outbreak?” said Aubree Gordon, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. “I think it’s going to be very important that local public health officials and the government react quickly and appropriately to try to stop the spread.”
Since the nation’s first coronavirus case was found in Washington six weeks ago, health officials have conducted sporadic testing, limited by narrow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for who was at risk, as well as difficulties with testing kits.
On Monday, the state increased its testing and was now handling about 200 requests each day, said Dr. Kathy Lofy, the health officer of Washington State. Much of the focus has been in the Seattle area, but Dr. Lofy said that could change. “Given the movement of people around the state, it is possible the virus is spreading in other counties, too,” she said.
Dow Constantine, the executive of King County, where officials were trying to buy a motel as a possible isolation facility, said it could be open as early as the end of the week. He said he also hoped to repurpose modular housing units, initially destined for the region’s homeless crisis, to be used to help isolate people and free up space at medical centers.
“We need that hospital capacity for treatment,” Mr. Constantine said.
In Kirkland, relatives who had visited the Life Care Center said that the facility had been coping with illness among residents and staff members in recent days, and that on Friday it told all residents to remain in their rooms.
Still more troubling news followed on Saturday: A resident and an employee had tested positive for coronavirus.
By Monday, workers from the center who were not feeling ill were asked to continue coming to work for shifts, according to Nancy Butner, Life Care’s northwest divisional vice president. Workers who were feeling sick, she said, were being asked to isolate themselves at home.
“We’re doing our best to make sure the patients are cared for and all of their needs are met,” Ms. Butner said. “There are just a lot of moving parts. We’re doing our best.”
North of Kirkland, leaders of the Northshore School District canceled classes for Tuesday to make preparations for the possibility of remote teaching. For families without laptops or internet access, the district was working to provide computers and internet hot spots. Elsewhere, several schools have also closed for deep cleaning.
“We now know the virus is active in our community,” Michelle Reid, the superintendent of the Northshore district, wrote a letter to families sent late Sunday.
On message boards, families also began discussing how they would manage long-term school closures or potential self or mandated quarantines.
Trisa Kern, a mother of two preschoolers, said she and her husband planned to stay home and take turns working if they are quarantined or if school closes — an eventuality she considers inevitable.
And at the University of Washington, more than 11,000 people have signed a petition calling for the school to close its Seattle campus, which has roughly 46,000 students. “In classrooms, dining halls and during other crowded areas, the virus will inevitably infect people thus increasing the infection rate exponentially,” the petition reads.
Victor Balta, a university spokesman, said the administration was aware of the petition and was evaluating how to adapt on campus.
“We absolutely understand the anxiety that is coming as a result of these reports in the region,” he said, “but we have been following and are continuing to follow the guidance issued by public health authorities.”
Mike Baker and Karen Weise reported from Seattle. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs contributed from New York, and Jack Healy from Denver.