A male patient in Washington state became the first person in the US to die from nCoV, while Australia also recorded the first death.

The first patient to die in the United States because of the nCoV was a man in his 50s with underlying medical conditions, according to Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, a Seattle health official and King County, Washington state. President Donald Trump and US officials earlier said at a press conference that the deathed patient was a woman, although Washington state governor Jay Inslee had confirmed the patient was male.

Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told the White House that there is no evidence that patients have close contact with an infected person or have previously traveled to the area. There are recent outbreaks, factors that can make this person infected with the virus. According to him, the patient may have gotten the disease through community infection.

US health officials have previously said that at least four patients with nCoV in the country had no previous history of frequent outbreaks. This is the first death from nCoV in the US, but not the first American to die from the disease. A 60-year-old US citizen died of nCoV infection earlier in February in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province, where an outbreak broke out in December.

Australia today also recorded the first death from nCoV. The 78-year-old patient who was on Diamond Princess yacht was isolated off Japan in early February and died while being treated at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Australia has reported 25 positive cases of nCoV.

U.S. officials, including President Trump and Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, call on Americans not to panic. "It is important to remember that the vast majority of people infected with nCoV will have mild to moderate symptoms and will be treated at home, in the treatment of a severe cold or flu," Mr. Azar said.

The Trump administration also announced additional travel restrictions to cope with the outbreak. Vice President Pence said the current travel ban on Iran would be open to foreign nationals who have been in the country for the past 14 days. The US State Department also increased its recommendation that Americans avoid Italy and South Korea, two major outbreaks of Covid-19.

The Covid-19 epidemic has infected more than 86,000 people and nearly 3,000 died worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) has increased its risk assessment of the spread and impact of the epidemic to a very high level on a global level. The US currently records 68 cases, of which one died.