COVID-19 Spreads to Major East and West Coast Cities in the US

Confirmed Cases Appear Consecutively in LA and New York... Local Transmission Also Underway
Busan Declares Emergency, Prepares Measures Including Disinfection Work

Disinfection work is being carried out in the New York subway on the 3rd.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) are rapidly increasing in key cities along the East and West coasts of the United States.

On the 4th (local time), New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that four people tested positive for COVID-19. They were reported to be family members of the second patient in New York or drivers who transported the patient to the hospital. This means local transmission occurred from the second patient. The number of confirmed cases in New York State has risen to six.

Concerns over the spread of local transmission have led the universities and high schools they attended to close urgently. The first patient in New York is reported to be maintaining home quarantine.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

As concerns over the spread of local transmission grew, New York City and New York State have been conducting disinfection operations in public facilities such as subways.

Governor Cuomo stated that charter flights will be used to bring back students from the State University of New York and the City University of New York who were visiting five countries, including South Korea, where COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred as part of exchange programs, and that these students will be quarantined for two weeks. Both universities have also decided to suspend this spring's exchange programs to countries affected by COVID-19. Columbia University, Cornell University, and the University of Pennsylvania have also temporarily suspended exchange programs with South Korea and are arranging for students to return home.

In Los Angeles, the spread of infection is also occurring. On this day, LA County announced six new confirmed cases. County authorities have traced the movements of these confirmed patients and stated there is no concern about local transmission. Barbara Ferrer, Director of the LA County Department of Public Health, also mentioned that COVID-19 tests have been conducted on 3,000 people.

Additionally, in California, new confirmed cases have been reported in Orange County (2 cases) and Contra Costa County (1 case). Orange County authorities predicted that "as testing capacity is secured, additional confirmed cases will continue to emerge."

As confirmed cases increase in California, Pasadena in northern Los Angeles, which has not yet reported any cases, has declared a state of emergency and is preparing accordingly.

The most severe outbreak in the United States is in Washington State. There, infections have spread mainly in nursing homes, resulting in nine deaths, and the previous day, an employee of the e-commerce company Amazon tested positive.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.