Coronavirus: US death toll rises to six as Washington state reports more cases

Two dozens firefighters quarantined after responded to calls for help at nursing facility

The state of Washington is scrambling to respond after it was revealed six people had now died amid a coronavirus outbreak, triggering anxiety and fear that reverberated across the nation.

As groceries and other stores reported exceptional demand over the weekend as people raced to stock up on essentials, officials declared the Pacific Northwest was now at the centre of the country’s biggest health crisis for a generation.

The latest deaths follow recent reports of two other people in the area who have died as doctors in the state believe the virus travelled undetected for several weeks.

Reports of infections of the flu-like respiratory illness have climbed to nearly 80 in the US.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 16 cases, though it presumes another 27 cases will test positive for the virus. Officials anticipate more confirmed cases in the coming days and weeks.

“We expect the number of cases to increase in the coming days and weeks,” Jeff Duchin, health officer for the public health agency said at a press conference on Monday. “We are taking this situation extremely seriously.”

He added: “It is impossible for me to predict what that peak of this outbreak (#coronavirus) will be, but our hospitals here locally are already feeling the strain.”

Dow Constantine, the executive of King County, of which Seattle is the largest city, said he had signed an emergency declaration for the county. It was also buying a motel in the Seattle area where people who were infected with coronavirus could stay to remain isolated.

“We have moved to a new stage in the fight to contain and mitigate this outbreak. King County is aligned and organised behind this common mission, with public health – Seattle & King County as our lead agency,” said said Mr “We will direct all available resources to help cities, health-care facilities, businesses, and families continue life as normally as possible. But our best strategies depend on millions of residents actively following established disease prevention guidelines.”

County chair Claudia Balducci said: “As we learn more about this outbreak, it’s now more important than ever that we look out for one another and stand strong as a community.”

The development came as Donald Trump said at White House his administration was talking to pharmaceutical firms and scientists as to whether work on a vaccine could be intensified. Most experts say it is unlikely one could be produced in less than 18 months, at the very minimum.

Officials in Washington state said that 18 cases of the virus had now been confirmed, 14 of them in King County. Of those at least eight were residents of the Life Care Centre, located in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland. Four of the dead had been residents at this facility.

One of the fatalities in Seattle was not a resident at the facility and a sixth death was in Snohomish County, which includes with city of Everett. It was in Everett that officials in January announced the US’s first confirmed case of the disease.

On Sunday night, the International Association of Fire Fighters said 25 members who responded to calls for help at the nursing facility were being quarantined.

Additional reporting by Associated Press