Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in connection with the coronavirus outbreak.
That declaration came after a Placer County resident’s death was related to the COVID-19 virus.
“The State of California is deploying every level of government to help identify cases and slow the spread of this coronavirus,” Newsom said in a statement. “This emergency proclamation will help the state further prepare our communities and our health care system in the event it spreads more broadly.”
The Placer County patient who died was exposed to the coronavirus between Feb. 11 and Feb. 21 during international travel on a Princess cruise ship that departed from San Francisco to Mexico.
The state is now holding the ship off the coast in order to test all the passengers. Newsom said coronavirus testing kits are being flown to the ship and administered with help from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
California now has 53 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
