California on Wednesday reported its first death related to coronavirus.
Placer County Public Health officials announced that a patient who had tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a cruise to Mexico last month died. The individual was an elderly adult with underlying health conditions and was the county's second confirmed case of COVID-19, reported Tuesday night. Officials said that close contacts of the patient were being quarantined and monitored for the illness.
The person's likely exposure occurred during international travel on a Princess cruise ship that departed Feb. 10 from San Francisco and sailed to Mexico, returning Feb. 21, officials said.
The patient tested positive Tuesday and had been placed in isolation at Kaiser Permanente Roseville.
The person likely had minimal community exposure between returning from the cruise and arriving at the hospital by ambulance on Thursday, health officials said. Ten Kaiser Permanente health care workers and five emergency responders, who were exposed prior to the patient's being put in isolation, are now in quarantine.
None of those 15 workers is exhibiting symptoms, officials said.
It's possible that other cruise passengers may have been exposed, officials said. Placer County Public Health is working closely with Sacramento County Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify and contact other cruise passengers.
"We extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of this patient," Placer County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson said. "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.
"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."
Los Angeles County, meanwhile, declared a health emergency Wednesday as the number of coronavirus cases in the county increased to seven, including six new patients.
None of the new cases are believed to be "community spread," officials said. All individuals were exposed to COVID-19 through close contacts with others who were infected.
The additional cases were confirmed Tuesday night. Officials said three of the new cases were travelers who had visited northern Italy, two were family members who had close contact with a person outside of the county who was infected, and one had a job that put them in contact with travelers.
One patient has been hospitalized, and the others are isolated at home.
Additionally, the cities of Pasadena and Long Beach are declaring public health emergencies related to the novel coronavirus. There are currently no confirmed cases of the virus in either city.
The county's move comes as the government has increased testing, which officials have warned will result in the identification of a significant number of new cases.
L.A. joins a growing number of California jurisdictions to take health-emergency action, which is designed to better marshal resources from across government agencies and give the fight against the virus more focus.
"I want to reiterate this is not a response rooted in panic," L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said at a news briefing. "We need every tool at our disposal."
Supervisor Hilda Solis acknowledged the ongoing spread of misinformation about the virus and xenophobia toward Asian communities.
"There's been too much misinformation spreading around," Solis said. "As we expected, it's cultivating fears and leading to racial profiling."
Los Angeles County will increase its capacity for testing of the virus at its local public health laboratory. Officials will begin daily radio briefings for the public, post new guidelines for schools and colleges, and over the next week will send "technical assistance teams" to make site visits to temporary housing facilities including homeless shelters.
Officials urged the public to frequently wash their hands, opt for verbal salutations in place of hugs and handshakes and try to maintain a distance of 6 feet from strangers.
"We have to be prepared. We have to protect the well-being of our loved ones and our neighbors," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
Officials said they had tested more than two dozen people for COVID-19 before these recent test results came back positive, and reiterated that there had been no sign of community spread in the county.
"I want to reassure everyone _ we are not there today," L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.
Marin County health officials on Tuesday declared a local health emergency despite there being no cases of coronavirus reported among county residents. San Francisco, which has no reported cases, and Orange County, which has three cases, declared health emergencies last week.
