First US COVID-19 Deaths Took Place Earlier Than Previously Thought

First US COVID-19 Deaths Took Place Earlier Than Previously Thought It was initially believed that America's first coronavirus-related causality was on February 29 in Washington.

New information shows COVID-19 had claimed the lives of two others on Feb.

6 and 17.

Autopsies were performed on the two bodies by California's Santa Clara Medical Examiner-Coroner.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the samples this week.

The Santa Clara County public health department says the two people died when "very limited testing" was being done on the coronavirus.

The first person died nearly a week before California's own labs started COVID-19 testing.

Santa Clara County executive Jeffrey Smith adds that the virus' early spread may have been masked by a severe flu season.

Dr. Jeffrey Smith, via 'L.A.

Times' County officials have not specified whether the two people had traveled to China or been in contact with anyone infected.

The first positive coronavirus test was in Washington on January 22.

That patient, who had been in Wuhan, recovered but is thought to have started an outbreak in the state.