US reports first coronavirus death, announces new travel restrictions

The United States on Saturday (February 29) announced the first coronavirus related death in the country, prompting President Donald Trump to issue new travel restrictions to Iran, Italy and South Korea. President Trump, however, stressed that the overall risk to the US due to coronavirus is low but it can change in the future.

US government has also urged its citizens not to travel to Italy and South Korea. "We advise all Americans not to travel to Italy and South Korea", Vice President Mike Pence said at a hastily convened White House briefing on Saturday.

Coronavirus has spread to nearly 60 countries, killing over 29,00 people and more than 85,000 people are infected with the deadly virus across the globe.

According to the officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the first death due to coronavirus has been recorded in the state of Washington. A state of emergency was declared by the Governor of Washington state on Saturday.

Notably, over 60 people in the US are currently infected with coronavirus and most of them have been evacuated from China's Wuhan, the epicentre of coronavirus outbreak, or from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

Anthony S. Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was quoted as saying by IANS that healthy Americans are at low risk of getting infected with Coronavirus and they would typically recover after mild symptoms similar to flu.

It is expected that the first vaccine trials for Coronavirisy would begin in next eight weeks and the researchers would need three more months to determine safety and efficacy which means that the world would have to wait for around 6-8 months for a breakthrough in developing the vaccine for coronavirus, Fauci said.