This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/us/coronavirus-california.html

The article has changed 38 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 4 Version 5
First Coronavirus Death Reported in California California Reports First Coronavirus Death as Symptoms Swirl on Cruise Ship
(32 minutes later)
An elderly patient in Placer County, Calif., near Sacramento, has died from the coronavirus, health officials announced on Wednesday. The death was the 11th linked to the virus in the United States, and the first to occur outside of Washington State. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as California confronted a deepening sense of crisis over the spread of the coronavirus on Wednesday, when an older patient in the Sacramento area died from the virus and a cruise ship carrying 21 people with symptoms was held off the coast of San Francisco.
Officials believe that the patient, who had underlying health conditions, was most likely exposed to the virus last month during international travel that included a cruise, which departed from San Francisco to Mexico. The person who died, in Placer County, was the 11th death linked to the virus in the United States, and the first outside of Washington State. The patient had underlying health conditions and was most likely exposed to the virus last month during international travel that included a cruise to Mexico, officials said.
“This death is an unfortunate milestone in our efforts to fight this disease, and one that we never wanted to see,” Dr. Aimee Sisson, the health officer for Placer County, said in a statement. Eleven passengers and 10 crew members who are still on that ship, the Grand Princess, were showing symptoms on Wednesday, Mr. Newsom said in an evening news conference. “That number may significantly understate” the scope of infection, he said, or “it may indeed be abundance of caution.” Public health officials prepared to screen everyone aboard the ship, which was not yet allowed to return to shore, Mr. Newsom said.
The number of reported cases in California rose on Wednesday to 51, the most of any state, as health officials in Los Angeles County announced six new cases. The virus has been detected across the United States but has been concentrated on the West Coast, in California and Washington State. The Grand Princess is owned by Princess Cruises, the same company that runs the Diamond Princess, a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship that was quarantined off the coast of Japan last month.
Earlier Wednesday, officials in Los Angeles County — with 10 million residents, the largest county in the nation — declared a local state of emergency to help prepare for what they said could be a growing number of cases. Among the new California cases of coronavirus announced on Wednesday were six in Los Angeles County: three people who had traveled together in Northern Italy; two relatives who had been in contact with a family member who previously tested positive; and a medical contractor for the Department of Homeland Security, whose job included screening passengers at Los Angeles International Airport.
The six new cases in Los Angeles County had been linked to international travel or contact with someone who quite likely had the virus, officials said, and did not represent a sign of unknown community transmission. Get an informed guide to the global outbreak with our daily coronavirus
Still, officials warned that the number of confirmed cases could soon rise, perhaps this week, and asked community members to prepare themselves for the possibility of school closures and the cancellation of public events. newsletter.
“We are not saying the situation in Los Angeles is dramatically worse,” Mayor Eric M. Garcetti of Los Angeles said at a news conference Wednesday morning. But, he said, “the potential public health risk is elevated and significant.” While local officials said they had traced all six cases to known exposure sources, federal officials said they could not say whether the airport screener had contracted the virus while working or as a result of the virus spreading in the community.
Of the six new patients in Los Angeles County, three had traveled together in Northern Italy; two are relatives who had been in contact with another family member who tested positive; and one worked in a job that included exposure to travelers from other countries who may have been infectious, officials said. Three more cases in Santa Clara County were also announced, and the many developments represented a significant escalation of the situation in California, which has had at least 54 cases of the virus, the most of any state. Officials in Los Angeles County — with 10 million residents, the largest county in the nation — declared a state of emergency, warning that the number of confirmed cases was likely to rise.
One person is hospitalized, the other five are being monitored at home. “This is a call for preparedness,” Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said at a news conference on Wednesday. “Know what you might do should we see an explosion of cases.”
A prior case in Los Angeles County had been diagnosed in January, when a person who lived in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak of the virus originated, traveled to Los Angeles County. That person has been cleared and is no longer infectious, officials said. While seeking to tamp down public anxieties, officials also warned that a worsening spread of the coronavirus could potentially lead to a grim new reality. Officials could order “extreme measures of social distancing.” Major sporting events could be played without spectators. Schools could shut down.
The declaration of a local emergency in Los Angeles County, reflects an effort by officials to allocate resources and coordinate a response for what they expect will be a growing number of cases. The mayor of San Francisco previously declared a state of emergency for the city. The first coronavirus deaths in the United States were reported over the weekend in King County, Wash., which includes Seattle. “This is the time for people to have a plan for what they would do should their child’s school need to close,” Dr. Ferrer said.
“This is a call for preparedness,” said Barbara Ferrer, the director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Dr. Jonathan Fielding, a public health expert at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that the number of cases in California, a large state that is a frequent entry point for travel from Asia, was likely to rise, particularly as officials increase their capacity to test and diagnose cases.
Officials were preparing for the possibility of school closures and the potential for large venues, like sports arenas, to make modifications to their events. For example, Dr. Ferrer said, “this could be that games are played, but there are no spectators.” “What was unfortunately predictable has now come into direct line of consciousness for many people who were hoping it would not happen,” said Dr. Fielding, who previously worked as the public health director for Los Angeles County. He added, “It’s very likely that it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
One possible area of concern is Southern California’s significant homeless population, which is likely to be at higher risk for more severe illness. Dr. Ferrer said officials were working with agencies that work with homeless people to come up with a plan, should the spread of the virus begin to escalate. The 11 deaths in the United States are a fraction of the more than 3,000 deaths that have been traced to the virus worldwide. Early estimates of the coronavirus death rate from China, the epicenter of the outbreak, have been around 2 percent. On average, seasonal flu strains kill about 0.1 percent of people who become infected.
The coronavirus seems to be more deadly than the flu. Early estimates of the coronavirus death rate from China, the epicenter of the outbreak, have been around 2 percent. On average, seasonal flu strains kill about 0.1 percent of people who become infected. The first coronavirus deaths in the United States were reported over the weekend in King County, Wash., which includes Seattle. On Wednesday, officials announced that a 10th person had died in Washington State, as ramped-up testing offered troubling evidence of how widely the virus had spread.
Before Mr. Newsom’s announcement, a spokeswoman for Princess Cruises, Negin Kamali, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was investigating a “small cluster” of coronavirus cases in Northern California linked to the Grand Princess. The person who died in Placer County and at least one other passenger who later tested positive finished their cruise in San Francisco, disembarking with others on Feb. 21. But 62 passengers who were on the ship with them remain on board.
Princess Cruises said on Wednesday that it had instructed those passengers to stay in their rooms until they were cleared by the ship’s medical staff. “You may order room service while you wait for the medical screening to be completed,” the cruise line wrote in a letter to passengers, “and we apologize for any inconvenience.”
The declaration of a local emergency in Los Angeles County and elsewhere — the mayor of San Francisco previously declared a state of emergency for the city — reflects an effort by officials to allocate resources and get ahead of what they expect will be a growing number of confirmed cases.
One possible area of concern is California’s significant number of homeless people, a population that is likely to be at higher risk for severe cases of the illness. Officials said they were working with agencies that serve homeless residents to come up with a plan, should the spread of the virus begin to escalate.
Of the six cases in Los Angeles County, one person is hospitalized and the other five were being monitored at home, officials said.
A previous case in Los Angeles County had been diagnosed in January, when a person who lived in Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus originated, traveled to Los Angeles County. That person has been cleared and is no longer infectious, officials said.
David Yaffe-Bellany and Zolan Kanno-Youngs contributed reporting.