First US COVID-19 Deaths Took <br />Place Earlier Than Previously Thought It was initially believed that America's <br />first coronavirus-related causality <br />was on February 29 in Washington. New information shows COVID-19 had <br />claimed the lives of two others on Feb. 6 and 17. Autopsies were performed on the two bodies by <br />California's Santa Clara Medical Examiner-Coroner. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention <br />confirmed the samples this week. The Santa Clara County public health department <br />says the two people died when "very limited testing" <br />was being done on the coronavirus. The first person died nearly a week before <br />California's own labs started COVID-19 testing. Santa Clara County executive Jeffrey Smith adds <br />that the virus' early spread may have been <br />masked by a severe flu season. Dr. Jeffrey Smith, via 'L.A. Times' County officials have not specified <br />whether the two people had traveled to <br />China or been in contact with anyone infected. The first positive coronavirus test was <br />in Washington on January 22. That patient, who had been in Wuhan, <br />recovered but is thought to have <br />started an outbreak in the state.
