Six dead as coronavirus cases in the US hit more than 100

Health officials believe a quarter of the current coronavirus cases in the United States were transferred through US communities rather than travel and have vowed to test a million people by the end of next week. 

An increase in testing for the coronavirus began shedding light on Monday on how the illness has spread in the United States with the death toll rising to six and newly confirmed cases pushing the tally to more than 100 across 12 states.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said he expects community-related cases to grow in the coming weeks. 

‘My concern is as the next week or two or three go by, we’re going to see a lot more community-related cases,’ he said. ‘That’s of great concern.’ 

Roughly a quarter of the cases in the US have likely been transmitted through local communities and are not travel-related, according to health officials. 

Despite this, the first cases detected in both Georgia and New Hampshire on Monday have been linked to travel in Italy.  

The two cases in Georgia involve people from the same Atlanta household, including a man who recently returned from Italy. The New Hampshire case involved a hospital worker who also recently returned from a trip to Italy. 

Meanwhile five of the six deaths – all of which occurred in Washington state – have been linked to a Seattle senior living facility. 

The coronavirus death toll in the US rose to six on Monday and there are now more than 100 confirmed cases across 12 states. Five of the six deaths – all of which occurred in Washington state – have been linked to a Seattle senior living facility (pictured above)

• Increase in testing for the coronavirus began shedding light on Monday on how the illness has spread in the United States
• Death toll has risen to six and newly confirmed cases pushed the tally to more than 100 across 12 states 
• Health officials expect to test more than one million people within the next week
• Georgia and New Hampshire have both reported its first cases with all being linked to recent travel to Italy 
• New York also confirmed its first coronavirus case over the weekend and Florida declared a public health emergency as it confirmed its first two cases
• Some schools across the country have closed for disinfection and officials in Washington state are buying a hotel to be used as a hospital for isolated patients 
• Officials have said a vaccine may not be ready for at least a year, despite Trump pushing for one in the next few months 

The total count includes people who tested positive after returning from travel to outbreak areas in other parts of the world, their close contacts and infections that appear to be from community spread – people who did not travel or have known contact with other infected people. 

Dr Fauci, who is the top coronavirus expert in the country, said community spread made it almost impossible to predict how many cases there will be. 

‘The very fact that you have community spread… the source of these infections are not entirely known. People are cropping up with infections and you can’t trace where they got it,’ Dr Fauci said.   

State and local authorities have been stepping up testing for the illness following a debacle with faulty kits from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that officials say delayed results. 

In response to the faulty tests, the Food and Drug Administration over the weekend allowed state and local labs to develop their own tests for coronavirus. 

It will see an increase in tests being carried out, according to FDA Commissioner Dr Stephen Hahn, who said he expects more than 1 million people to be tested within the next week. 

The CDC recently broadened its guidelines for who should be tested for the new virus to include people with symptoms but without a travel history to virus hot zones. 

More testing will bring more confirmed cases, experts said, but they cautioned that does not mean the virus is gaining speed. Instead, the testing is likely to reveal a picture of the virus’ spread that was previously invisible.  

Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said he expects community-related cases to grow in the coming weeks

President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet met at the White House on Monday with executives of 10 pharmaceutical companies. He is pictured with Mike Pence, GlaxoSmithKline CEO Emma Walmsley and National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci

Some schools across the country have closed for disinfection and officials in the Seattle area where the six deaths occurred also announced they were buying a hotel to be used as a hospital for patients who need to be isolated.

New York also confirmed its first coronavirus case over the weekend and Florida declared a public health emergency as it confirmed its first two cases. 

In Texas, tension between U.S. and local officials brewed over the planned release Monday of more than 120 ex-passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship in quarantine in San Antonio. 

Mayor Ron Nirenberg declared a public safety emergency in an attempt to continue the quarantine. He and other officials in San Antonio called for more lab testing of the passengers after one woman tested positive after release.

The CDC said its case count includes 45 infections among people who were on the cruise ship. 

President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet met at the White House on Monday with executives of 10 pharmaceutical companies to discuss ways to speed the development of a vaccine for the coronavirus. 

Patrons with shopping carts loaded with tissue and water wait in checkout queues at a very busy Costco in Miami, Florida

A shopper in Commack, New York, overstocking on extra food, supplies and water, for coronavirus threat on Monday. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday warned it could begin testing up to a million people by the end of the week.

Officials have said a vaccine may not be ready for at least a year, despite Trump pushing for one in the next few months. 

During the meeting, officials noted the vaccine could be ready for human testing within months but stressed it would not be available widely for at least a year. 

‘We’re working very hard to expedite the longer process of developing a vaccine. We’re also moving with maximum speed to develop a therapy so that we can help people recover as quickly as possible and a lot of recovery going on,’ Trump said.

He added that a vaccine would be available within ‘a couple of months’.

Dr Fauci, who is the top coronavirus expert in the country, interjected during the meeting, saying: ‘Like I’ve been telling you, a year to a year and a half.’

Trump, however, shrugged him off: ‘I like the sound of a couple of months better’.

‘I’ve heard, very quick numbers, a matter of months. Pretty much a year would be an outside number. So I think that’s not a bad,’ Trump said.

Dr Fauci responded: ‘When is it going to be deployable… That is going to be at the earliest a year to a year and a half, no matter how fast you go.’

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