Mike Pence warns of MORE American deaths from coronavirus after Washington man, 50, becomes first to die in US from the virus and fears grow for 50 showing symptoms at nearby nursing facility

Vice President Mike Pence has warned that more US coronavirus deaths could be imminent, after a 'medically high-risk' man in his 50s in Washington state became the first person in the US to die from the rapidly-spreading disease.
In a departure from President Trump's continued line that all is well, Pence admitted 'we could have more' fatalities among the American population, in a clip from Sunday's 'State of the Union' show released Saturday night.
His comments came as fears are mounting for 50 staff and residents at a nursing facility located just two miles from the deceased male after they have shown coronavirus symptoms, while Trump urged the public not to panic and two new cases – one in Illinois and another in Santa Clara, California – were confirmed Saturday night.
Australia also confirmed its first death from coronavirus on Saturday.
The 78-year-old male victim contracted the virus on board the doomed Diamond Princess cruise ship, where 44 American passengers also contracted the disease and were repatriated to the US.
'We know there will be more cases,' Pence told CNN's Jake Tapper in the interview clip.
When pressed by Tapper if this means there will be more deaths, Pence – who was this week handed the job of leading the US taskforce to tackle the disease – admitted: 'It is possible.'
He restated the president's point that healthy individuals will likely recover from the disease.
'The reality that Doctor Fauci (the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) and others explained to me since I took on these duties a few days ago is that for most people that contract the coronavirus they will recover,' he said. 
'They will deal with a a respiratory illness, we'll get them treatment.'
However, he conceded that for Americans that have pre-existing health conditions, there could be 'sad news'.
'For people who have other conditions that would militate towards a worse outcome,' the Vice President said.
'We could have more sad news. But the American people should know the risk for the average American remains low.'
Pence's comments come as two further cases were confirmed late Saturday night, making the total number of Americans diagnosed with the virus 71 and counting.  
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department confirmed its fourth case is an adult woman who lives with the woman who was confirmed to be a case on Friday and who sent shockwaves for becoming the US' second 'unknown origin' case.
The fourth case does not have symptoms and has not been hospitalized, officials said. 
Officials in Illinois then confirmed the state's third case, which is being treated as another 'unknown origin' case. 
Fears are now mounting for 50 staff and residents at a nursing facility in Washington state as they are now showing symptoms of the virus, after two individuals - a resident and an employee at the care home - have already been diagnosed with the infection.
Fifty-two staff and residents of the nursing facility where two new coronavirus cases have been confirmed are now showing symptoms of the disease, health officials said during a teleconference with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At the Life Care nursing facility in Kirkland, Washington state, around 27 of the 108 residents and 25 of the 180 staff have some symptoms, including some cases where individuals have contracted pneumonia.
The CDC and local health officials are reportedly sending an emergency response team to the Life Care facility on Sunday to try to control the escalating situation. 
This comes as a 'medically high-risk' man in his 50s became the first person in the US to die from coronavirus overnight Friday near Seattle, Washington state. 
The unnamed man died in a hospital just two miles from the nursing facility where concerns of a mass outbreak are mounting, but officials are maintaining the cases are unconnected.  
President Trump sought to quell widespread panic in a press conference on Saturday where he expressed condolences to the family of the patient who died and told people to remain calm - before he made a gaffe by wrongly saying the deceased person was a woman.  
The possible outbreak in the nursing facility comes as it emerged that two new confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state are linked to the home. 
At a Saturday press conference, Dr. Jeff Duchin, the health officer for Seattle and King County, confirmed that one of the confirmed cases was a woman in her 40s who works at the facility, who is in satisfactory condition. 
Another was a female resident of Life Care in her 70s, who is in serious condition. 
Neither had a recent history of travel, suggesting these are additional cases of community spread.  
'We are very concerned about an outbreak in a setting where there are many older people, as we would be wherever people who are susceptible might be gathering,' said Duchin. 
'We're going to send a team into the facility tomorrow to do an assessment.' 
A team of CDC workers from Atlanta are on route to the facility in efforts to control the outbreak. 
Duchin added that older adults and people with underlying health conditions like diabetes, heart or lung disease should be especially careful to protect themselves by washing their hands, not touching their faces, and avoiding contact with people who are sick.  
The Life Care facility provides 24-hour care for residents, including physician and nurse coverage, many of whom have long-term and chronic conditions.
News of the potential outbreak in the facility is concerning given the higher danger of coronavirus being fatal to individuals who are less healthy or already have pre-existing conditions. 
A spokesperson for Life Care told DailyMail.com that the facility was not accepting any visitors or new admissions, and was monitoring all residents and associates for the virus.
They said the restricted access had only been put in place earlier that morning, the same day the two cases were confirmed and outbreak fears emerged.  
Medical staff wearing protective clothing and masks were pictured transporting a patient on a stretcher into an ambulance at the Life Care facility on Saturday. 
The CDC is working with the facility to try to get a handle on the situation, they said, but the individual said they could not confirm reports that the CDC was sending in an emergency response team to the home.
Executive director Ellie Basham said in a statement that the facility is monitoring the situation closely.
'Current residents and associates are being monitored closely. As is normal this time of year, there are various cold and flu-like symptoms being exhibited from residents and associates,' the statement emailed to DailyMail.com read.
'The health department has advised us to monitor for an elevated temperature, cough and shortness of breath. We're consulting with the health department and possibly sending patients to a local hospital for formal COVID-19 testing.'
Several Kirkland firefighters have also been quarantined after they responded to Life Care facility over the last week, according to Seattle Times
'It impacted multiple crews,' Kellie Stickney, a city of Kirkland spokesperson, said.
The city has not stated where the firefighters are being quarantined.  
Washington state recorded the first death from coronavirus in the US on Saturday. 
Duchin said the deceased patient was a man in his 50s with 'underlying health conditions.'  
He died overnight at the Evergreen Health's hospital in Kirkland, Washington - just two miles from the Life Care facility in Kirkland where the mass outbreak is now feared.  
The deceased patient, also in King County, did not have a connection to the facility, Duchin said. 
However, Frank Riedo, the medical director of infection control at EvergreenHealth Hospital, did not seem to rule out the possibility the cases are related. 
'At the present time, we do not see a connection between the two. But there are some evolving threads that are being investigated,' said Riedo.
'I think … what we're seeing is the tip of the iceberg. We're seeing the most critically ill individuals. Usually that means there's a significant percentage of individuals with less severe illness floating around out there. So in all likelihood there is ongoing low level transmission.'
Duchin also took aim at the CDC, saying that the lack of available tests had led to delays in the cases being confirmed and action being taken. 
'If we had the ability to test earlier, I'm sure we would have identified patients earlier,' he said.
Health officials said all three new cases in Washington state had no known travel history or links to global hot zones — indicating that the deadly outbreak is now likely spreading in communities. 
This now takes the number of Washington cases to a total of six, according to presumptive tests administered locally. 
Speaking to the nation at a rare Saturday press conference, Trump expressed condolences to the family of the patient who died and addressed the outbreak, urging calm even as he said the virus spread seems inevitable. 
'Additional cases in the United States are likely, but healthy individuals should be able to fully recover,' he said. 'Healthy people — if you're healthy, you'll probably go through a process and you'll be fine.'
Trump urged politicians and the media not to sensationalize the outbreak and provoke panic. 'There's no reason to panic at all,' he said.
Initially, there was confusion over the deceased patient's sex, after Trump said that the person was a woman in her 50s who was 'medically high-risk'. The White House said that Trump was relying on information from a briefing from the CDC.
'It was a man,' said Dr. Duchin of the deceased patient, adding that the patient was a 'chronically ill person' with 'severe risk factors.'
Worldwide, the outbreak that began in Wuhan, China has sickened at least 83,652 people and killed 2,862 in 54 countries.
Trump spoke a day after he denounced criticism of his response to the threat as a 'hoax' cooked up by his political enemies.
'Hoax was referring to the action that they take to try and pin this on somebody,' Trump explained on Saturday when asked if he regretted his words. 'I'm not talking about what's happening here, I'm talking about what they're doing.'
At the press conference, Vice President Pence, who has been tapped to lead to virus task force, announced new emergency travel restrictions on Iran, Italy, and South Korea, which have been hit by outbreaks.
Any foreign national who has visited Iran in the past 14 days will be banned from entering the U.S., Pence said.
He also said that Trump has authorized the State Department to raise the travel advisory level to outbreak areas in Italy and South Korea to Level Four, the highest level.
Level Four advisories urge Americans not to travel to an area for any reason, though they do not legally forbid travel. 
Health experts say that the coronavirus has a low mortality rate, resulting in death in about 2 to 3 percent of cases, the majority of which are elderly patients or those with compromised immune systems. However, it appears to be highly contagious, spreading quickly through communities. Experts say frequent hand washing is one of the most effective preventative steps that individuals can take to prevent viral spread. 
On Saturday afternoon, Washington's Governor Inslee, a Democrat, declared a state of emergency in response to coronavirus, authorizing the use of the Washington National Guard, if necessary.
He issued a proclamation that directs state agencies and departments to utilize state resources and do everything reasonably possible to assist affected communities responding to and recovering from COVID-19 cases.
'This is a time to take common-sense, proactive measures to ensure the health and safety of those who live in Washington state,' Inslee said in a statement. 'Washingtonians can be assured we've taken this threat seriously and have been working in collaboration with our health care partners to develop plans and procedures to prepare for what could likely be a world-wide pandemic.'  
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