SEATTLE _ Six people in Washington have now died from the illness caused by the novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2, state and King County officials announced Monday morning. In all, there have been 18 cases of the illness, officials said, stressing that the situation is rapidly evolving.
All of the deaths occurred at EvergreenHealth Health Medical Center in Kirkland, according to Dr. Ettore Palazzo, a spokesman for the hospital at a news conference in Seattle. Five of the deaths were of King County residents and one a Snohomish County resident. It is the first COVID-19 death in Snohomish County.
At a news conference in downtown Seattle, County Executive Dow Constantine said he had signed an emergency declaration and is in the final stages of buying a motel where patients can recover in isolation. The motel should be available later this week. The county is also setting up modular units primarily for people who are sick and don't have a home where they can recover.
"We have moved to a new stage in the fight to contain, mitigate and manage this outbreak," Constantine said.
Officials said they expected the number of cases to increase in the coming days while at the same time saying they didn't see a need yet to close schools or cancel public events. "We are taking this situation extremely seriously," said Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health _ Seattle & King County.
People should have essentials in the house similar to what one might keep around in case of an earthquake, state health officer Dr. Kathy Lofy said.
"We now know that the virus is actively spreading in communities here in Washington," Lofy said.
Public Health Director Patty Hayes asked the public to stop buying masks and leave them for health care workers on the front line of the crisis.
