COVID-19 clusters swell on both sides of the U.S.
Alarming clusters of the coronavirus swelled on both coasts of the U.S. on Tuesday, with 70 cases now tied to a biotech conference in Boston and infections turning up at 10 nursing homes in the hard-hit Seattle area.
Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden abruptly canceled rallies because of worries about the virus, and New York’s governor announced he is sending the National Guard to scrub public places and deliver food in a New York City suburb that is at the center of the nation’s biggest known cluster of infections.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency as cases statewide jumped by 51 from the day before, to 92.
Of that number, 70 are now connected to a meeting held last month by biotech company Biogen at a hotel in downtown Boston.
More schools and universities sent students home, while conferences and other events were canceled. The United Nations announced that it would close its New York headquarters to the public and suspend all tours. And one of the biggest resort operators in Las Vegas, MGM Resorts International, said it would close buffets at all of its Las Vegas Strip casinos as a precaution.
A top federal health official pointed to Europe, rather than the virus’ point of origin in China, as the likely source for the infection’s continued spread to the U.S.
“Right now, the epicenter — the new China — is Europe,” Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Capitol Hill. “And there’s a lot of people coming back and forth from Europe that are now starting to seed these communities.”
Authorities in Washington state reported two new deaths from the virus — a man and woman, both in their 80s, who were residents of a nursing home and a senior center. Of the 24 deaths in that state, 19 have been tied to a single nursing home, Life Care Center of Kirkland. But state officials said they are now working with 10 nursing facilities where residents or workers have been testing positive.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said three schools and other gathering places will be shut down for two weeks in a containment zone in New Rochelle, the epicenter of an outbreak of more than 100 cases.
Officials said the National Guard troops will help clean public spaces and deliver food to people quarantined at home in the zone, which extends a mile in all directions from a synagogue connected to some of the cases.
Officials would not say how many National Guard members would be involved, and there was no immediate sign of any troops on the streets. Apart from those who are under quarantine, residents and visitors to the community of 79,000 will be able to come and go freely, with no checkpoints, and businesses can remain open, officials said.
“It is a dramatic action, but it is the largest cluster of cases in the country,” Cuomo said. “The numbers are going up unabated, and we do need a special public health strategy.”
New Rochelle and surrounding Westchester County account for the majority of the state’s 173 coronavirus cases. New York City, with 100 times the population of New Rochelle, has 36 known infections.
The virus has infected more than 800 people in the U.S. and killed at least 29, with one state after another recording its first infections in quick succession. New Jersey reported its first coronavirus death Tuesday.