According to CNN,West Virginia became the 50th state to report a case of the deadly novel coronavirus when Gov. Jim Justice announced the first positive test result Tuesday.
Justice said the case was in the eastern panhandle of the state, but he gave no other details.
The announcement comes just after the death toll from the virus in the United States passed 100, according to a CNN tally of data from state heath officials.
Illinois reported its first death Tuesday, becoming one of 18 states to report the death of a resident who died from the virus in the pandemic.The grim milestone comes as health officials tout a consistent message: Limit your interactions now or overwhelm the health systems meant to take care of you. And get used to it, this won't be over soon.
Tuesday at the White House, a reporter asked when the number of US cases could peak if the public adheres to social distancing.
"It probably would be several weeks or maybe longer before we know whether we had an effect," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said. "And maybe, at the end of the day, we'll see a curve that would've been way, way up."
Fauci said persuading younger people -- who researchers say may be less likely to show symptoms but might pass the virus to more vulnerable people -- to stay out of gathering places such as bars and restaurants was key.
He hopes to say sooner rather than later that "we've seen that inflection and we're coming down," Fauci said.
Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House task force response coordinator, also urged people Tuesday to cancel elective surgeries to ease strains on physicians and hospitals.
Story Credit : CNN