US confirms first coronavirus death in Washington state

ANKARA

U.S. health authorities on Saturday confirmed the first coronavirus death in Washington state.

"The Washington State Department of Health confirms the first U.S. death from COVID-19 has occurred here in the state of Washington," the department said on Twitter.

The department emphasized that more information will be shared in a media briefing later in the day.

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his condolences to the family of the woman in King County, Washington, who became the first loss from the epidemic.

The woman was a "medically high-risk patient in her late 50s," Trump told a press conference at White House along with Vice-President Mike Pence and health officials, after the first coronavirus death was confirmed.

"Since the early stages of the foreign outbreak, my administration has taken the most aggressive action in modern history to confront the spread of [coronavirus]," Trump said.

Asked about using word "hoax" regarding coronavirus disease during a campaign rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, Trump defended that he did not call the virus itself a "hoax" but Democrats' politicization of the content.

Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said there was no evidence that the woman’s death was linked to travel or contact.

Redfield said the risk "remains low" for average Americans, and added everyone should continue their daily life.

Pence, who was put in charge of the coronavirus task by Trump, announced that travel restrictions will be extended, while travel advisories to Italy and South Korea have been elevated to level 4 - Do Not Travel due to the outbreak.

Same level alert was issued for Iran on Wednesday.

The novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, was first detected in Wuhan city in China's Hubei province last December.

The global death toll has reached 2,837 with China being the worst hit, with over 79,250 confirmed cases.

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak an international health emergency and said the global risk level remains high.