First U.S. Death From Coronavirus Confirmed In Washington State

The Washington Department of Health announced that a patient who was diagnosed with novel coronavirus has died. Authorities did not provide details about their identity or how they contracted the virus. It is the first death from the coronavirus, known as COVID-19, in the United States.

President Donald Trump addressed the woman's death during a press conference at the White House.

“She was a wonderful woman a medically high-risk patient in her late 50s. Four others are very ill. Thankfully 15 are either recovered fully or they're well on their way to recovery. And in all cases, they've been let go in their home," Trump said.

Trump cautioned that there may be “additional cases in the United States," but said that "healthy individuals should be able to fully recover."

There have been at least 67 confirmed cases of the virus in the United States. Most of the cases involved people who were infected on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. In four of the cases, health officials have been unable to determine how the patient contracted the virus.

There have been more than 85,000 confirmed cases around the world, with most of the infections concentrated in mainland China. Nearly 3,000 people have died, with more than 2,800 deaths occurring in China.

Photo: Getty Images

in China.