California declares coronavirus state of emergency

California declares coronavirus state of emergency

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus in the state, which now has has 53 confirmed cases.

Soraya Ali reports.

California declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus on Wednesday (March 4) after reporting 53 confirmed cases -- the most of any U.S. state.

Governor Gavin Newsom made the announcement following the state's first coronavirus fatality.

The state's first death was an elderly man who recently traveled on a cruise ship.

That same ship set off to Hawaii and is now on it's way back to San Francisco, but Governor Newsom says it won't be docking.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM, SAYING: "That ship we've requested the arrival to be delayed and the ship is currently off the coast -- because we have a number of passengers and crew members who have developed symptoms." At at least 20 people aboard the Grand Princess ship have fallen ill and will remain aboard until coronavirus can be ruled out.

So far in the U.S., all coronavirus related deaths have occurred only in Washington state where 10 people have died and at least 39 have become infected.

In response, the U.S. House of Representatives approved an $8.3 billion bill on Wednesday to combat the spread of the virus and develop vaccines -- though it still needs to be approved by the Senate.

The fast-spreading virus has reached some 80 countries and infected over 95,000 people worldwide.

And hopes of containment may be shrinking.

South Korea, Australia and Sweden reported more new cases on Wednesday -- while Hungary, Slovenia and Poland joined the list of infected nations.

Most notably, mainland China reported a rise in new cases on Thursday (March 5), reversing three straight days of declines.

The increase was driven by more cases in Wuhan -- the epicenter of the outbreak -- where the virus is believed to have emerged in a market late last year.