(Reuters) – Health officials in Washington state said on Sunday a second person infected with the coronavirus had died there, while New York’s governor said his state confirmed its first case of the illness.
The Washington death was in the Seattle area and was reported on the website of the Seattle and King County public health department. On Saturday, the same officials reported the first death from coronavirus in the United States.
New York state confirmed its first positive coronavirus test, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday night. He wrote on Twitter that a woman in her 30s contracted coronavirus during a recent trip to Iran and was in quarantine in her home. He did not say where the woman lived, but the New York Times, citing unnamed state officials, said the woman was in New York City.
“The patient has respiratory symptoms, but is not in serious condition and has been in a controlled situation since arriving in New York,” Cuomo said.
At the federal level, President Donald Trump’s administration scrambled on Sunday to reassure Americans as the disease spreads and businesses cancel conferences and flights.
Administration officials tried to calm market fears that the coronavirus could cause a global recession, saying the public had overreacted and that stocks would bounce back because of the underlying strength of the U.S. economy.
Washington state on Sunday confirmed two other cases at a long-term care facility where a resident and a worker also tested positive for coronavi