California reports first coronavirus death, and Los Angeles county declares emergency

Today, California reported the first coronavirus death in the state, a resident of Placer County. Separately, L.A. County declared a state of emergency over the COVID-19 outbreak.

Placer County Public Health officials said a patient who previously tested positive for COVID-19 after they returned home from a cruise has died. The deceased was an elderly person with underlying health conditions, and they were the county's second confirmed case of COVID-19. People who were close contacts of the patient are being quarantined and monitored, officials said.

From the Los Angeles Times:

The individual's likely exposure occurred during international travel on a Princess cruise ship that departed Feb. 10 from San Francisco to Mexico and returned Feb. 21.

Los Angeles County on Wednesday declared a health emergency as the number of coronavirus cases increased to seven, with six new cases in the county. None of the new cases are connected to "community spread," officials said. All individuals were exposed to COVID-19 through close contacts.

The additional cases were confirmed Tuesday night. Officials said three of the new cases were travelers who had visited northern Italy, two were family members who had close contact with someone outside of the county who was infected, and one had a job that put them in contact with travelers.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.