Death Toll In U.S. Rises To 11 Driven By Nursing Facility Outbreak; California Quarantines Cruise Ship After Passenger’s Death

Reuters: California Declares Emergency Over Coronavirus As Death Toll Rises In U.S.
The U.S. death toll from coronavirus infections rose to 11 on Wednesday as new cases emerged around New York City and Los Angeles, while Seattle-area health officials discouraged social gatherings amid the nation's largest outbreak. The first California death from the virus was an elderly person in Placer County, near Sacramento, health officials said. The person had underlying health problems and likely had been exposed on a cruise ship voyage between San Francisco and Mexico last month. (3/4)

NPR: Coronavirus: California Reports 1st Death From COVID-19
Gov. Gavin Newsom extended his condolences to the patient's loved ones and said the state is working with federal agencies to trace people who might have had contact with the patient. Later Wednesday, Newsom declared a state of emergency over coronavirus in California, which has more than 50 confirmed cases, according to health officials. (Chappell, 3/4)

CNN: After California Man Dies From Coronavirus, Cruise Ship Is Held Off At Sea 
"This emergency proclamation will help the state further prepare our communities and our health care system in the event it spreads more broadly," he said. (Karimi and Almasy, 3/5)

Los Angeles Times: Californians On Grand Princess Cruise Last Month May Have Been Exposed To Coronavirus
Newsom said he felt confident that the state could contain the spread of the virus by passengers of the cruise who had already returned to California. “We have the resources,” Newsom said. “We have the capacity. By this evening, we will have contacted every county health official that has someone who came off this cruise. They will have their contact information and begin a process to contact those individuals.” (Luna and Gutierrez, 3/4)

The Washington Post: Virus Death Toll Reaches 11 As Coronavirus Continues To Spread
Public health officials described the deceased California patient as an “elderly adult with underlying health conditions.” The patient was probably exposed during a mid-February round trip from San Francisco on a Princess cruise ship, officials said.(Dennis, Greene and Sampson, 3/4)

Los Angeles Times: CDC Investigates California Coronavirus Cases Tied To Cruise Ship
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 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. (Shalby, 3/4)

San Francisco Chronicle: First California Coronavirus Death Tied To San Francisco Cruise Ship; CDC Investigating Spread 
By the time public health authorities made the connection between the two ill former passengers and the ship, the Grand Princess was at sea again with a new group of about 2,500 passengers.(Allday, Bauman and Koseff, 3/4)

The New York Times: California Reports First Coronavirus Death As Symptoms Swirl On Cruise Ship
Eleven passengers and 10 crew members who are still on that ship, the Grand Princess, were showing symptoms on Wednesday, Mr. Newsom said in an evening news conference. “That number may significantly understate” the scope of infection, he said, or “it may indeed be abundance of caution.” Public health officials prepared to screen everyone aboard the ship, which was not yet allowed to return to shore, Mr. Newsom said. (Mervosh and Smith, 3/4)

The Washington Post: Grand Princess Cruise Ship Held Up Off California Coast In Another Coronavirus Crisis For Princess Cruises
“The CDC is continuing to actively collect information and is collaborating with us to determine what, if any, actions need to be taken during the current Hawaii cruise and upon the ship’s return to San Francisco,” the cruise line said in a statement. “We have shared essential travel and health data with the CDC to facilitate their standard notification to the state and county health authorities in order to follow up with individuals who may have been exposed to the people who became ill.” Sixty-two people on the Hawaii cruise also sailed to Mexico with the passengers who later tested positive, according to the operator. (Sampson, 3/4)

Politico: Coronavirus Hits California-Based Cruise Ship, Prompting Quarantine Off The Pacific Coast
California is also keeping Grand Princess passengers on the current San Francisco-Hawaii trip in the Pacific Ocean indefinitely until state and federal officials can assess how many passengers and crew have coronavirus or have been exposed. “We have a number of passengers and crew members who have developed symptoms on this ship,” Newsom told reporters at a briefing this afternoon to announce a state of emergency. He later specified that 11 passengers and 10 crew members had symptoms, though he described the situation as fluid. (Colliver, 3/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Another Princess Cruise Ship Is Caught Up In Coronavirus Outbreak
On Princess Cruises’s website, Chief Medical Officer Grant Tarling advised guests on the February cruise to immediately seek medical attention if they have experienced any symptoms of the virus, including fever, chills or cough since returning home. Dr. Tarling said in an open letter that the Grand Princess, until today en route to Ensenada, Mexico, about 100 miles south of the U.S.-Mexican border, would turn around and return to San Francisco for further investigation. Passengers were told to remain in their staterooms until they had been cleared by medical staff. “You may order room service while you wait for the medical screening to be completed, and we apologize for any inconvenience,” Dr. Tarling said in the letter. (Carlton, 3/5)

The New York Times: Cruises And The Coronavirus: What Passengers Need To Know
“The first thing I do every morning when I open my eyes is Google ‘coronavirus,’” said Diane Fudge, a travel adviser at All Inclusive Travel Concierge in Homosassa, Fla. Half of Ms. Fudge’s business comes from selling cruise vacations, so she is keeping a close eye on the situation for her clients. She is also checking for herself: As of now, she plans to go ahead with a March cruise to Mexico. Thirty-two million passengers were expected to embark on ocean cruises in 2020, according to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), and this is the time of year when large cruise ships are most likely to be sailing in Asia, so the coronavirus outbreak couldn’t have come at a worse time. (Weed, 3/4)

The Associated Press: U.S. Virus Death Toll Hits 11; Feds Investigate Nursing Home
Washington also announced another death, bringing its total to 10. Most of those who died were residents of Life Care Center, a nursing home in Kirkland, a suburb east of Seattle. At least 39 cases have been reported in the Seattle area, where researchers say the virus may have been circulating undetected for weeks. Vice President Mike Pence was expected to meet with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee near Olympia on Thursday. (3/5)

The New York Times: Why Washington State? How Did It Start? Questions Answered On The U.S. Coronavirus Outbreak
There are three main explanations for why more cases of coronavirus may have been detected in Washington State than any other state in the nation. One is that many of the cases are related to a case at a long-term care facility in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland. The coronavirus is more severe in older people with underlying health conditions. That means the coronavirus could be circulating in other communities — in Washington or elsewhere — but causing mild enough symptoms that those who are contracting it do not seek or require medical care, therefore unintentionally passing it on. In another scenario, someone who had become infected in China, where the virus originated, might have returned to Washington weeks ago with a mild infection and passed it on, undetected, until many more people became affected. The longer a virus is circulating in a community, the more likely transmission is to happen. (Weise, Harmon and Fink, 3/4)

Reuters: Washington State Urges Patience As Covid-19 Test Delays Stoke Anger
Washington state officials urged patience on Wednesday as medical staff reported fear and anger among people told they could not be tested for the coronavirus due to limited capacity in a state facing the United States' deadliest outbreak. Clinics in the Seattle area reported an increase in patients seeking tests as Washington reported 39 cases of coronavirus and 10 deaths. (3/4)

The Washington Post: Virus Death Toll Reaches 11 As Coronavirus Continues To Spread
“This is a shifting landscape and is shifting by the hour,” King County Executive Dow Constantine said during a Wednesday news conference. County officials advised people over 60 and with underlying conditions, as well as pregnant women, to stay home and avoid large groups. They also urged employees to telecommute for the next three weeks if possible. (Dennis, Greene and Sampson, 3/4)

Los Angeles Times: Empty Stores, Quarantined Firefighters: Washington City At Coronavirus Epicenter Reels As Death Toll Rises
Parents keep their children inside. Few people shake hands anymore. More than two dozen firefighters remain in quarantine. Restaurants and hair salons are close to empty. Such is life in Kirkland, Wash., the suburb just east of Seattle known for its folksy downtown and spectacular lakefront views, but now above all as the U.S. epicenter of COVID-19. Of the 11 U.S. deaths from the coronavirus epidemic, eight were residents of a local nursing home that is struggling to care for others who may have been infected. An additional death occurred at a Kirkland hospital. (Read, 3/4)

The Hill: Medical Professional At Los Angeles Airport Tests Positive For Coronavirus
A medical professional conducting coronavirus screenings at Los Angeles International Airport has tested positive for the virus, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Wednesday. The person began to exhibit coldlike symptoms on Feb. 29 and visited their primary care doctor for a COVID-19 test the next day. The test came back positive, DHS said in a statement. (Klar, 3/4)

PBS NewsHour: How San Francisco Is Fighting Novel Coronavirus — And The Stigma That Comes With It
On Wednesday, California officials confirmed the state’s first death from novel coronavirus, as the number of infections nationwide continues to rise. But beyond the serious medical implications of the virus, it is also provoking fear, suspicion and ethnic stereotyping. (Nawaz, Baldwin, Fritz and Kuhn, 3/4)