[BBC] The US has reported the first death from the new coronavirus in the country, in the state of Washington.Officials said the patient was a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions.
President Donald Trump said more cases were "likely" but that the US was prepared for any circumstance.
Officials in Washington state on Saturday said they were investigating a possible outbreak of the coronavirus at a local nursing home.
Dr Jeffrey Duchin, a health official for Washington's Seattle and King County, said there were two cases associated with the long-term care facility Life Care Center of Kirkland - one a healthcare worker and the other a resident in her 70s.
Dr Duchin said about 27 residents and 25 staff members at the centre had "some sort of symptoms". Officials said more positive cases were expected.
In total, the WHO says there have been 62 cases in the US so far.
A US citizen previously died in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first appeared.
On Sunday, Australia also recorded its first fatality from coronavirus - a 78-year-old man evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
More than 85,000 coronavirus cases have been reported in 57 countries around the world and almost 3,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. The vast majority of infections and deaths are in China, where the virus emerged late last year.
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Gov. Jay Inslee directed state agencies to use "all resources necessary" to prepare for and respond to the coronavirus outbreak. The declaration also allows the use of the Washington National Guard, if necessary.
"We will continue to work toward a day where no one dies from this virus," the governor vowed.
Health officials in Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,, Oregon and Washington state are worried about the novel coronavirus spreading through West Coast communities because a growing number of people are being infected despite not having visited an area where there was an outbreak, nor apparently been in contact with anyone who had.