This story was updated at 1:06 p.m. with additional information of the developing outbreak.
The number of novel coronavirus deaths continues to rise as Seattle and King County Public Health announced two additional virus-related deaths on Tuesday.
Two individuals who died last week were found to have had the coronavirus. Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg confirmed one of the patients was found to have had the virus through post-mortem testing.
In total, nine people have died due to the virus in Washington, including eight deaths in King County and one in Snohomish County, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
The latest deaths were both residents of Life Care Center in Kirkland, one of who was a woman in her 80s. She was never hospitalized and died at home on Feb. 26, according to Public Health.
The second was a 54-year-old man who was admitted at Harborview Medical Center on Feb. 24 and also died on Feb. 26, according to a Haborview news release. He was transferred to Harborview from the Life Care Center, and did have underlying medical conditions.
“We have determined that some staff may have been exposed while working in an intensive care unit where the patient had been treated,” Harborview shared in a news release. “We don’t believe that other patients were potentially exposed.”
Staff who may have been exposed have been contacted and are being monitored and screened daily.
Public Health also released information on seven newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in King County residents.
The new cases, along with the two Feb. 26 deaths, are:
• A female in her 40s, who worked at LifeCare, was never hospitalized and is recovering at home.
• A female in her 60s, who is a family member of a confirmed case of COVID-19, and is not currently hospitalized.
• A male in his 70s, who is a frequent visitor of Life Care Center. His hospitalization status is unknown.
• Two males both in their 20s with an unknown source of exposure, who are both hospitalized at Swedish Issaquah.
The recent announcement brings the total of confirmed coronavirus cases to 27 in Washington with six cases in Snohomish County and 21 in King County.
Overlake Medical Center & Clinics in Bellevue announced there are currently three presumptive cases of COVID-19 in their care.
According to a news release, two of the three patients have a connection the Life are Center of Kirkland. These presumptive coronavirus patients are in stable condition.
Overlake staff are being closely monitored and caregivers with direct contact with positive or high-risk patients are also being monitored for signs of illness.
The hospital and its clinics are open for business as usual and are equipped to care for those with COVID-19, the release stated.
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