Mar 3, 2020 - Health

Washington schools shut as Gov. Inslee seeks $100M to fight coronavirus

Rebecca Falconer

A healthcare worker prepares to transport a patient on a stretcher into an ambulance at Life Care Center of Kirkland on February 29, 2020 in Kirkland, Washington. — A health care worker prepares to transport a patient on a stretcher into an ambulance at Life Care Center of Kirkland, Feb. 29, Kirkland, Washington. Photo: David Ryder/Getty Images

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) told a news conference Monday he directed officials to ask the state legislature to designate $100 million from this year's budget to help fight the novel coronavirus.

Why it matters: The state is at the center of the U.S. outbreak. All six of the deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. have occurred in Washington state. Four of those who died were residents of the Life Care Center in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland in King County. Several of the 18 coronavirus infections in the state are residents of the nursing home.

Officials in King County made an emergency declaration Monday and several schools closed.
Inslee had already declared a state of emergency Saturday after state health officials announced an outbreak of respiratory symptoms and pneumonia at the long-term-care facility.

Go deeper: Americans still have low risk of coronavirus infection, CDC says

Add Axios on Google

Washington schools shut as Gov. Inslee seeks $100M to fight coronavirus

What to read next