First coronavirus death reported in U.S.

A person in Washington state is the first patient in the U.S. to die from the coronavirus, health officials said Saturday.

The death occurred in King County, which includes the city of Seattle, according to the Washington health department. 

President Trump updated the public Saturday afternoon from the White House about the administration's response to the virus.

The president said the first U.S. victim was a "high-risk" medical patient in her late 50s. He said four others in the country are "very ill."

"Our country is prepared for any circumstances," Trump also said. "Experts agree that (the U.S.) moving so quickly has slowed the spread of the virus."

The U.S. now has 66 reported cases of the virus -- including four on the West Coast in which officials cannot directly connect the patients to somebody else who has recently traveled outside of the country, raising concerns about the virus spreading communally.

Whether the patient who died in Washington is among the four is unclear.

The deadly virus was first reported in China, from which inbound flights to the U.S. have already been limited. 

There are now 2,462 deaths worldwide associated with the virus.  

The World Health Organization on Friday increased its global risk assessment for the virus to “very high,” amid a growing number of confirmed cases and countries reporting them.  

WHO officials also said at least 49 countries are now reporting cases of the virus -- with Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Netherlands and Nigeria having reported first cases starting Thursday.

Trump on Saturday also rebutted reports that administration health officials had been muzzled. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, standing next to the president, confirmed his statement. 

The president also clarified a question from a reporter about him calling the virus a "hoax."

Trump said that he used the word to refer to political opponents and others trying to again connect him to something for which he is not to blame -- including Russia meddling in the United States' 2016 presidential election. 

Health officials at the White House press conference with the president said the risk of contract the virus remains low but warned the virus will spread and that the situation can "change rapidly." 

Vice President Mike Pence, who's leading the White House task force on the virus, said Saturday, standing next to the president, that travel will now be restricted to Iran, where the virus has rapidly spread.

He said the U.S. travel advisory for Italy and South Korea, where the virus also has rapidly spread, is now at its highest level.

Trump told reporters to expect daily virus updates, that the country has 43 million face masks, and that he has a meeting scheduled for Monday with pharmaceutical company executives in which he will talk with them about a virus vaccine.