WASHINGTON, March 2 (KUNA) -- The US death toll from the new coronavirus (COVID-19) has risen to six amid a spike in the number of infections across the country.

The State of Washington announced Monday four more coronavirus deaths, bringing the virus death toll in US to six, health officials told the Washington Post.

They also told the daily that the state's total caseload climbed to 18.
King County Executive Dow Constantine issued an emergency declaration for what has become the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak in Washington State.

"Unfortunately, we are starting to find more COVID-19 cases here in Washington that appear to be acquired locally here in Washington. We now know that the virus is actively spreading in some communities," Constantine said in a press conference.

In the meantime, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley told reporters at the Pentagon that the US army research labs are working feverishly around the horn here to try to come up with a vaccine.
"So we'll see how that develops over the next couple of months," he said.