Coronavirus: Death toll in U.S. rises to 6

The United States on Tuesday confirmed its sixth case of coronavirus in the country as the virus took root in the country's Pacific Northwest.

Worldwide, close to 3,100 people have succumbed to the illness even as a clear shift in the crisis was emerging, with nine times as many cases recorded outside China as inside, according to the UN health agency.

Andorra, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Jordan, Latvia, Portugal, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia were among countries that confirmed their first cases, along with Senegal, which became the second sub-Saharan African country to do so.

The conflict-wracked region is feared to be particularly vulnerable because of its poor health infrastructure and crowded cities with inadequate sanitation.

All of the US deaths have occurred in the state of Washington, where officials warned residents the battle against the disease was shifting from containment to mitigation.

"The risk for all of us of becoming infected will be increasing," said Jeff Duchin, a health officer in King County where five of the deaths occurred. The district is home to Seattle, a city with a population of more than 700,000 people.

Earlier in the day, New York's governor warned it was "inevitable" that the virus would spread in the global financial hub after its first confirmed case was detected in a health care worker who had visited Iran.

Donald Trump meanwhile was meeting with leading pharmaceutical companies at the White House to discuss efforts to develop a coronavirus vaccine.

Despite its world class hospitals and medical professionals, the US is also viewed as vulnerable to an epidemic because of glaring disparities in its health care system, including nearly 28 million people without coverage.

South Korea sect

China reported 42 more deaths on Monday -- all in central Hubei province, bringing the death toll to 2,912. The pathogen is believed to have originated in a market that sold wild animals in Hubei's capital Wuhan.

Overall, China recorded just 202 new infections however, the lowest daily rise since late January, bringing the nationwide total to over 80,000, as massive quarantine efforts paid off.

The WHO says the virus appears to particularly hit people over the age of 60 and those already weakened by other illnesses. Its mortality rate is between two and five percent.

South Korea, the worst affected outside China, reported nearly 500 new cases on Monday, raising its total past 4,000.
Four more people died there, taking the toll to 22.

Half of South Korea's cases are linked to a sect whose leader Lee Man-hee apologized Monday for the spread of the disease.

Seoul's city government has asked prosecutors to press murder charges against him for failing to cooperate in efforts to contain the virus.