U.S. virus death toll rises to 11 with California victim

SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 11 with a victim succumbing in California, the first reported fatality outside Washington state.

Officials in Placer County, northwest of Sacramento, said Wednesday an elderly adult who tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a San Francisco-to-Mexico cruise had died.

They said the victim had underlying health conditions. Washington also announced another death Wednesday, bringing its total to 10. Most of the deceased were residents of a nursing home in Kirkland.

Vice President Mike Pence, who's heading the Trump administration's response to the nation's novel coronavirus outbreak, is traveling to Olympia Thursday to meet with Gov. Jay Inslee.

Among the confirmed cases of coronavirus in Washington state is an Amazon employee who worked at the company's Seattle headquarters before becoming ill last week, as well as two high school students, one in Mill Creek and one in Renton.

The number of coronavirus cases in western Washington is expected to rise daily as more tests are processed.