US COVID-19 deaths climb to 11 with California victim

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. death toll from the new coronavirus climbed to 11 Wednesday when officials in California recorded the first death from COVID-19 there.

Officials in California's Placer County described the victim as elderly with underlying health conditions.

“While we have expected more cases, this death is an unfortunate milestone in our efforts to fight this disease, and one that we never wanted to see," Placer County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson said in a statement.

“While most cases of COVID-19 exhibit mild or moderate symptoms, this tragic death underscores the urgent need for us to take extra steps to protect residents who are particularly vulnerable to developing more serious illness, including elderly persons and those with underlying health conditions,” she added.

The patient who died was tested and presumptively identified positive for the new coronavirus on Tuesday, prompting the county to declare a public health emergency.

The individual had traveled on a Princess cruise ship that had departed from San Francisco to Mexico and was on the same ship associated with another confirmed coronavirus case in Sonoma County.

The individual was placed in isolation in a local hospital in critical care, and the patient's close contacts were quarantined and monitored.

Local officials assessed the patient, whose identity was not made publicly available, as having "minimal community exposure" after returning from the cruise and being transported to a local hospital by ambulance on Feb. 27.

Further south in Los Angeles county, officials recorded seven infections and declared a local health emergency.

In all, 10 local hospital workers and five emergency responders were exposed to the individual before he or she was isolated. They have been put in quarantine, and none of the 15 individuals are currently exhibiting symptoms, according to the county.

Meanwhile in Washington state, officials announced another death, bringing the death toll there to 10 after COVID-19 spread in an elderly living facility. Most of the deaths are linked to patients at the nursing home in the Seattle suburbs.

The elderly are especially susceptible to the disease.