Coronavirus: More deaths linked to nursing facility in Washington state

The Life Care Center nursing home where some patients have died from COVID-19 is pictured in Kirkland, Washington on March 5, 2020.

Credit: JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images

Credit: JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images

The Life Care Center nursing home where some patients have died from COVID-19 is pictured in Kirkland, Washington on March 5, 2020.

As fears continue to rise amid the coronavirus outbreak, so did the number of deaths and cases on Saturday in Washington state.

Public Health – Seattle & King County announced three new deaths and 60 new cases. The county total is now at 35 deaths with 387 total cases.

Including the King County deaths, the four deaths in Snohomish County, and the Grant County death, the new statewide coronavirus death total is at least 40.

Spokane County also announced its first three positive cases Saturday morning.

The statewide case number as reported by the Department of Health and local health districts is at least 642.

The breakdown by county is as follows (accurate as of 3 p.m. Saturday): King County, 387; Snohomish, 154; Pierce, 26; Kittitas, 3; Island, 6; Kitsap, 3; Skagit, 4; Yakima, 4; Thurston, 3; Whatcom, 2; Spokane, 3; Clark, 3, Grant, 2: Jefferson, Grays Harbor, and Columbia counties still only have one confirmed case.

The Washington State Department of Health also lists 39 unassigned positive cases, which due to rapidly changing data, have not yet been attributed to specific counties. KIRO-TV will update as more information becomes available.

On Friday, Gov. Jay Inslee announced the expansion of the school closure order to all K-12 schools, both public and private, statewide. The school closure order originally affected only schools in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

Inslee said schools must close by the end of Monday and will remain closed through at least April 24. The earliest possible date students could return to class would be April 27, Inslee said.

The closures will affect more than 1.2 million students.

Inslee also expanded the ban on gatherings and events of more than 250 people to the entire state in an effort to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The ban originally was only on gatherings in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties.

Click here to watch a replay of Friday's briefing by the governor.

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