The new coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, has spread to every continent except Antarctica, with the first U.S. case involving a 35-year-old man who traveled to Wuhan, China, before returning to Washington state. On January 20, 2021, it was confirmed that he was infected with the virus. Since then, the virus (which causes the COVID-19 disease) has spread to several states, with new cases appearing every day.
Coronavirus in the USA
Approximately 959 people in the United States have been confirmed to have the virus.Of these reported cases, 28 people have died, namely in Washington (23), California (2), Florida (2) and New Jersey (1). Almost 117,000 cases have been confirmed worldwide, including 4,090 deaths.
US health officials announced that they had sent test kits to 400,000 people by the end of last week, with additional tests to be sent out in the coming weeks, Reuters reported Thursday March 5. However, as of Tuesday March 10, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tested 3,698 samples for COVID, while other state and local laboratories have conducted 4,856 tests, according to the CDC.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday March 7 that "anyone can get tested for the virus." Alex M. Azar II, Minister of Health and Human Services, clarified that a doctor or other healthcare professional must first approve testing, according to The New York Times.
Washington
The state currently has about 267 cases, mostly in King and Snohomish counties, outside of Seattle. Most of the cases occurred at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington. Experts are not sure how the virus made its way into the center, which has 190 beds, according to The New York Times.
In King County, 22 people have died from the virus and one each in Snohomish and Grant counties.
County statistics:
- King County: 267 cases (22 deaths)
- Snohomish Country: 54 cases (1 fatal)
- Pierce: 16 cases;
- Grant: 1 case (1 death);
- Jefferson, Kittitas and Clark: 1 each;
- Kitsap: 2 cases;
- Skagit: 2 cases.
The state health department has set up a hotline that you can call to get answers to your questions about the coronavirus.
California
There are currently 175 COVID-19 cases in California, of which 22 passengers are on board the Grand Princess cruise ship off the coast of the state. There have been two coronavirus-related deaths in the state, according to The New York Times.
About 10,250 Californians are under quarantine surveillance in case they start showing symptoms. There is a possibility that they were exposed to this new coronavirus.
On March 4, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency to provide additional resources to fight the virus. “We have introduced emergency measures in many government agencies and departments, and this will help the state prepare for the wider spread of COVID-19,” the governor's administration said in a statement.
3,500 people aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship prepare to disembark at the port of Auckland on Tuesday 10 March, which is expected to take several days. Passengers and crew were stuck on the ship for days after an infected COVID-19 was discovered on board. 22 people on the ship have tested positive for the virus. A 71-year-old man aboard the ship became the first death in the United States from the coronavirus. He lived in Rocklin, east of San Francisco, and had serious health problems.
County statistics:
- Los Angeles: 19
- San Benito: 2
- San Diego: 3
- Humboldt: 1
- Sacramento: 2
- Placer County: 7
- San Mateo: 2
- Sonoma: 3
- Orange: 4
- Contra Costa: 12
- San Francisco: 9
- Yolo: 1
- Santa Clara: 38
- Alameda: 2
- Madera: 1
- Fresno: 1
- Riverside: 1
- Shasta: 1
New York
New York State reports 105 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 12 of them in New York City itself. The first case in Manhattan involves a woman who recently visited Iran. She has now been isolated in her home since March 1st. The second case in the state was reported on March 3 in a man who lives in New Rochelle, NY, Westchester County and works in Manhattan. On Wednesday March 4, Governor Cuomo confirmed there were nine more infections in people associated with the man, including his 20-year-old son, 14-year-old daughter, and a neighbor who took the man to hospital. In addition, another friend of the infected man, along with his wife and three children, reports The Times.
Breakdown by county:
- Westchester County: 98
- New York: 19
- Nassau: 17
- Rockland: 4
- Saratoga: 2
- Suffolk: 1
- Ulster: 1
Nebraska
There are currently 16 cases of COVID-19 in Nebraska, according to The New York Times. Eight people are being treated at the National Quarantine Office of the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Some of these patients were passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
The first confirmed case identified during follow-up is a 36-year-old woman from Omaha who is critically ill at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. In mid-February, she went to London with her father, and in February she became ill. Two members of her family also tested positive, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
Public health officials are now identifying hundreds of people who may have contacted the woman at a special Olympic Games basketball event and veterans' dinner. Also the medical professionals who treated her before she tested positive, reports The Lincoln Journal Star.
Oregon
As of March 10, 14 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Oregon, according to the state health department. There are two cases in Jackson County, two in Klamath County, two in Umatilla County, eight in Washington County, one in Douglas County and one in Marion County. So far, the state has screened 231 people; 165 people tested negative and 52 tests are still pending.
Gov. Keith Brown declared a state of emergency on March 9. Resources have been allocated to combat the spread of the new coronavirus.
Florida
Florida reports 20 cases of COVID-19, including 2 deaths, according to Florida Health. 222 tests have been negative and the remaining 155 are pending. Currently, 319 people are being monitored for the detection of the virus.
Two men in their 70s died who were traveling abroad, possibly to Israel or Egypt, according to the Miami Herald. One of them had serious health problems.
Florida has set up a hotline for coronavirus information. People can also send questions to email.
Massachusetts
As of March 9, there have been 40 positive and 40 unconfirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the Massachusetts Department of Health. The first case in the state was recorded in a student at Boston University of Massachusetts on February 21, according to NBC Boston. The man, in his 20s, returned to Boston after visiting Wuhan, China, where the outbreak began in late December 2021.
As of March 3, about 719 residents of the state have been forced to go into quarantine. On Monday March 9, several school districts announced school closures to stop the spread of the coronavirus, The Boston Globe reported.
A conference at biotech company Biogen in late February is linked to at least 30 of these cases, Fierce Pharma reported.
Texas
There are 26 reported cases in Texas.Of these, 11 were recorded in the Houston area in residents who contracted the virus while traveling to Egypt, according to the Texas Tribune. Another 11 cases concerned individuals exposed to the virus while abroad. These people were quarantined at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. Patients who tested positive were transferred to the Texas Infectious Disease Center or local hospitals for medical care.
The first apparently localized infection is believed to be a human case in Collin County, north of Dallas, which was reported on Monday March 9th.
On Sunday March 8, Texas officials announced that about 100 passengers aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship from California would be quarantined at Lackland Air Force Base.
For the first time since 1987, the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) event has been canceled due to fears of the spread of the coronavirus. The conference takes place in March in Austin, Texas, where hundreds of thousands of people gather to take part in the music and film festival.
Diagnostic tests in the USA
The first versions of the COVID-19 diagnostic test were ineffective and took several weeks to develop a replacement. The US government has turned to private companies and institutions for help to expand testing capabilities in the country, according to The New York Times. According to "the information we are getting from manufacturing right now, there will be close to a million tests by the end of this week," FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a press briefing on March 2.
A week earlier, the FDA had authorized state and local laboratories to develop and approve their own diagnostic tests and conduct initial testing themselves, rather than sending samples to the CDC lab in Atlanta, The Times reported.
CDC tests use a PCR-based protocol. This means that viral DNA can be accurately identified in swabs from the patient's nose and throat. Many other tests in development use the same approach. Some labs are looking to use the CRISPR gene editing technique to isolate target genes using fluorescent labels, the scientist said. Other groups are working to isolate antibodies from infected people.
Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, FDA Commissioner, said 1,583 people in the U.S. have been tested for COVID-19 using CDC tests. Speaking on March 7, Khan elaborated on how testing is done in the United States, including the number of tests sent to American labs.
Khan also clarified that the number of tests equates to the number of patients: “It is currently estimated that there are 2.1 million tests available and 850,000 Americans will be able to get tested,” he said.
