US confirms three more cases of coronavirus

By Betul Yuruk

NEW YORK (AA) - The U.S. confirmed three new cases of the deadly coronavirus from China on Sunday, bringing the total to five.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that two people in California and one in Arizona had been diagnosed with the virus.

All three had visited Wuhan city in central China's Hubei province, where the virus first surfaced.

The first two U.S. cases were confirmed last week -- one in Seattle, Washington and the other in Chicago, Illinois.

The coronavirus -- so named because under the microscope it resembles a crown, or corona in Latin -- has killed at least 56 people in China and infected more than 2,000.

Cities have been quarantined and China is building a 1,000-bed hospital for those who have contracted the virus.

The virus has also spread to Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the U.S., Singapore, France, Vietnam and Canada.

Travelers from China are being screened for the virus at airports worldwide, and many airlines have suspended flights to Wuhan.

The World Health Organization (WHO) held a meeting Thursday where it postponed a decision on declaring the outbreak a health emergency, saying it needed more information about the virus.