Last checked at 
(Adds details on tests for more Seattle area cases, public
health official quotes)
By David Ryder
KIRKLAND, Washington, March 2 (Reuters) - Six people in the
Seattle area have died of the illness caused by the new
coronavirus, health officials said on Monday, as authorities
across the United States scrambled to prepare for more
infections with the emphasis on increasing testing capacity.
Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for the Seattle and King
County Public Health agency, announced the increase in
fatalities from the previous two in Washington state.
Eight of the 14 total cases in his jurisdiction are linked
to an outbreak at a nursing facility in the Seattle suburb of
Kirkland, including four deaths, Duchin said at a news
conference.
At least four of the six people who died were either elderly
or had underlying health conditions or both, Duchin said.
The total number of cases detected by the public health
system in Washington state now stands at 18, the most of any
state. In addition to the 14 King County cases, four residents
of nearby Snohomish County have tested positive for the virus,
officials said.
"We expect the number of cases will continue to increase in
the coming days and weeks, and we are taking this situation
extremely seriously," Duchin said.
However, he also said the vast majority of diagnosed
patients have mild to moderate disease and do not need
hospitalization.
In addition to confirmed cases, King County has about 29
potential cases awaiting test results, so the number there could
soon rise, officials said. Tests were being conducted on about
200 samples per day, and health officials said they expect to
boost the number of tests to at least 1,000 a day in the near
future.
Duchin said his county was not recommending school closures
or cancellation of any events at this point.
"You can expect over the next two weeks to hear more from us
about community mitigation measures and the right time to do
it," he said. "We can't expect people to go for months and
months without going to work, without going to school," he said.
As of Sunday, the number of confirmed and presumptive cases
in the United States had risen to 91, the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. Many of those were
among people repatriated to the United States, either from the
Diamond Princess cruise ship previously quarantined in Japan or
from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the global outbreak
originated.
The number of presumed cases reported by states but not yet
officially confirmed by the CDC stood at 27, up from seven
previously. The CDC will confirm the tests sent by states with
their own diagnostics. So far, 10 states, including California
and New York, have confirmed or presumed cases.
TEST KITS
U.S. stock markets briefly pared gains following the
announcement of an increase in fatalities but closed higher -
the S&P 500 by 4.6%, the Dow Jones by 5% and the NASDAQ by 4.5%.
World stock markets had a weeklong slide last week on
coronavirus fears.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo welcomed a CDC decision
allowing New York to test for the virus that has killed more
than 3,000 people worldwide since it emerged in China in
December.
"I would like to have a goal of 1,000-tests-per-day capacity
within one week because, again, the more testing, the better,"
Cuomo said at a briefing on Monday.
Federal health officials have said the number of test kits
for coronavirus would be radically expanded in coming weeks. The
United States appeared poised for a spike in cases, partly
because there would be more testing to confirm infections.
Protective gear and test kits were being distributed to U.S.
military facilities with a priority on distribution to the
Korean Peninsula, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
Army General Mark Milley, said at a briefing.
South Korea is one of the hardest hit countries with 4,335
cases and 26 deaths.
U.S. government military laboratories were working to
develop a vaccine, Milley said.
President Donald Trump said his administration has asked
pharmaceutical companies to accelerate work on the development
of a coronavirus vaccine, but provided no details.
Top U.S. health officials have said any vaccine is up to 18
months away and there is no treatment for the respiratory
disease, although patients can receive supportive care.
Trump and his task force on the outbreak were meeting with
drug company executives on Monday afternoon. U.S. health
Secretary Alex Azar said the administration is working on supply
chain challenges for pharmaceutical companies in response to
coronavirus as many active ingredients come from China.
The White House is also expected to meet this week with top
executives from U.S. airlines and the cruise industry over the
impact of the virus to their businesses, two people briefed on
the matter said.
There have been more than 87,000 cases worldwide and nearly
3,000 deaths in 60 countries, the World Health Organization
said.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; additional reporting
by Steve Holland, David Shepardson, Susan Heavey, Lisa Lambert,
Makini Brice, David Morgan, Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart in
Washington, Michael Erman and Caroline Humer in New York and
Manas Mishra in Bengaluru, Writing by Grant McCool; Editing by
Bill Berkrot and Jonathan Oatis)
