Coronavirus USA Update: US Death Toll Hits 11, New York Confirms 9 New Cases

Community transmission of COVID-19 now rages on both U.S. coasts with California reporting its first death from the disease Wednesday and New York City confirming 11 total cases. Four of the new cases in New York belong to one family with the fifth being a family friend that came to their aid. Washington state reported a tenth death, also on Wednesday.

California now has 53 positive COVID-19 cases, according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). This total includes 24 people that arrived in the U.S. in February on repatriation flights from coronavirus outbreak hotspots in China and Japan.

The Washington State Department of Health confirms 10 deaths in the state due to COVID-19 as of Wednesday. Washington reported 10 confirmed new infection cases on Tuesday and 11 on Wednesday. Of the total 11 deaths from the disease in the U.S., 10 occurred in Washington. The 11th death is in California.

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States was announced on January 21. As of March 4, there were 148 confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., including 11 deaths.

On Wednesday, Placer County Health & Human Services (PCHHS) in California reported the death of a man from the county, making this the first confirmed COVID-19 death in the state. It said this patient is an "older adult" that recently took a cruise aboard the Princess Cruises cruise ship, Grand Princess. This ship departed San Francisco February 11 and returned from a cruise to Mexico on February 21. PCHHS said this person was hospitalized in "critically ill" condition.

PCHHS said the patient tested positive for the COVID-19 on Tuesday and "was likely exposed during international travel from Feb. 11-21 on a Princess cruise ship that departed from San Francisco to Mexico." A week passed from the end of the cruise to when the patient was hospitalized at Kaiser Permanente Roseville, said PCHHS.

Also on Wednesday, New York officials confirmed nine more new cases of COVID-19 infection. Included in the new cases are the wife, 20-year-old son, and 14-year-old daughter of lawyer Lawrence Garbuz, the second coronavirus case, as well as the Garbuz's neighbor who drove him to the hospital.

The new cases triggered the partial closure of the main campus of Yeshiva University, where Garbuz's son is a student. It also closed the high school in the Bronx where Garbuz's daughter is a student.

Hours later, another five cases were reported and appear associated with a contact of the Garbuz family. This brought the total New York state cases to 11. New York state's first confirmed COVID-19 infection is a healthcare worker whose status was revealed Sunday.

“There was another person who is being tested who came in contact with a 50-year-old lawyer, a friend of the lawyer who spent time in close proximity in a number of situations,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a press briefing referring to the Garbuz family friend. “We then tested that person’s wife, two sons and daughter, and they all tested positive."

State disease detectives are working to find out who else the Garbuz family might have had contact with. More than 1,000 people are now either under mandatory or self-imposed quarantine across Westchester after possible contacts with this network of infections.

“This is the most complex case we’ve had in terms of the number of interactions,” said Cuomo.