EvergreenHealth Medical Center in Kirkland, Washington state, where the first six U.S. deaths were reported, Image: Oran Viriyincy from Santa Barbara / Wikimedia Commons
The coronavirus has claimed six lives in Washington state while the number of confirmed cases in the United States has reached 100 in 15 states.
Americans are nervously taking steps to ward off the COVID-19 with protective measures and buying basic goods and foods.
Washington state now has 18 confirmed cases of the novel virus that spread out of China’s Wuhan city and has now affected 70 countries, slowing economic momentum in China and rattling the U.S. stock market with trillions of dollars in value lost last week with a modest rebound this week.
Officials in Washington state suspect people might have been exposed to the virus disease in King County which includes Seattle.
President Donald Trump , who has appointed vice president Mike Pence to lead U.S. response effort, wants the Federal Reserves to immediately cut down interest rates and economists and policymakers in major European and Asian countries contemplate measures to stem prospects of a slump in the global economy.
….paying higher rates than many others, when we should be paying less. Tough on our exporters and puts the USA at a competitive disadvantage. Must be the other way around. Should ease and cut rate big. Jerome Powell led Federal Reserve has called it wrong from day one. Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2020
Globally, the coronavirus disease has now affected 70 countries, with 90,000 infections and death toll surpassing 3,100, according to World Health Organization and officials in affected countries.
South Korea, Iran and Italy are among the worst affected countries while China has reported a slowdown in the spread of the diseases that has been said to have transmitted from wild animal meat to humans in the country. Beijing has banned wild animal food consumption. The diseases causes severe respiratory problems and has flu-like symptoms.
Chinese health officials say the country had 125 new cases of the virus in 24 hours, the lowest number since Jan. 21, when they started keeping record of the disease outbreak. But the death toll continues to clime with 31 deaths in Hubei, the most-affected province. China now has over 80,000 cases with 2,943 deaths.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has said that the virus can be contained.
An official said containment of the novel coronavirus is “feasible.”
“We are in uncharted territory,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“We have never before seen a respiratory pathogen that is capable of community transmission, but which can also be contained with the right measures.”
According to Tedros, early stage and “aggressive” measures, could combat transmission of the virus.
