First US COVID-19 Deaths Took
Place Earlier Than Previously Thought It was initially believed that America's
first coronavirus-related causality
was on February 29 in Washington. New information shows COVID-19 had
claimed the lives of two others on Feb. 6 and 17. Autopsies were performed on the two bodies by
California's Santa Clara Medical Examiner-Coroner. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
confirmed the samples this week. The Santa Clara County public health department
says the two people died when "very limited testing"
was being done on the coronavirus. The first person died nearly a week before
California's own labs started COVID-19 testing. Santa Clara County executive Jeffrey Smith adds
that the virus' early spread may have been
masked by a severe flu season. Dr. Jeffrey Smith, via 'L.A. Times' County officials have not specified
whether the two people had traveled to
China or been in contact with anyone infected. The first positive coronavirus test was
in Washington on January 22. That patient, who had been in Wuhan,
recovered but is thought to have
started an outbreak in the state.