Six Dead of Virus in Washington; State Readies for Outbreak

(Bloomberg) -- Four more people have died of the coronavirus in Washington state, bringing the total fatalities to six, and local officials said they’re preparing to isolate large numbers of patients for what they anticipate could be a significant outbreak.

The deaths have been centered around a nursing home near Seattle in Kirkland, where there are a large number of suspected patients. In total, there are at least 18 cases in the Pacific Northwest state, with at least 14 in King County and four in Snohomish County.

Local authorities said they’re preparing for a wider outbreak and plan to quickly purchase a hotel and set up modular units to house and isolate patients.

“We have moved to a new stage in the fight to contain, mitigate and manage this outbreak,” King County Executive Dow Constantine said at a press conference Monday.

Expanded testing for the coronavirus is turning up evidence that the virus has already been spreading from person-to-person. As testing increases, more cases are likely to be identified, said Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County.

The cases “have probably been going on for a while,” Duchin said at the press conference. “This virus has been in our community obviously, it has made people sick. We are now recognizing that because we are looking for it.”

All six of the patients who died were treated at EvergreenHealth, a hospital system in Kirkland which has been testing for the coronavirus in patients with unexplained severe pneumonia. There are still 29 patients that are in the process of being tested, said Ettore Palazzo, a doctor at EvergreenHealth, during a press conference with local and state officials.

At least four of the deaths were residents of Life Care Center, a skilled nursing home in Kirkland, a Seattle suburb, that is the epicenter of the Washington state outbreak.

The outbreak in the counties near Seattle is the most concentrated of the coronavirus clusters detected so far in the U.S. While other areas have reported single cases or small groups, many in travelers returning from abroad, the Washington state illnesses appear to represent an outbreak with transmission going on in the community.

“As we test more, we will see more,” Duchin said. “It is impossible for me to predict what the peak of this outbreak may be.” Many new confirmed cases will be mild as testing expands,

The modular units, some of which were previously used to house oil workers in Texas, will be set up around the Seattle area and can hold more than 100 people. The units will be used for patients who are in need of isolation and a place to recover from an infection.

“Many of us can shelter in place, we can go home, we can even work remotely,” Constantine said. “That’s not an option for people who are unhoused. The challenge is making sure that people who become infected aren’t in a shelter causing infection to others and that they have a safe place to be, in isolation or quarantine or recovery.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Robert Langreth in New York at rlangreth@bloomberg.net;Michelle Fay Cortez in Minneapolis at mcortez@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Drew Armstrong at darmstrong17@bloomberg.net

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