U.S. communities are braced for coronavirus outbreaks. Seattle is already in the thick of it
SEATTLE — As much of the United States prepares to see large clusters of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that’s circling the globe, this city and the surrounding area are already in the thick of it.
As of Monday, 116 people had tested positive for the coronavirus in King County, which includes Seattle, and 20 had died, including the first fatal case in the country. State and local health officials here have already issued emergency declarations, set up quarantine sites, and asked the public to avoid large, nonessential gatherings. The county spent $4 million to buy a motel in the suburb of Kent and set up modular housing units as living spaces for infected people who can’t be quarantined at home or are homeless.
