COVID-19 now in all 50 states after West Virginia confirms first coronavirus case

COVID-19 has forced millions of Americans into isolation inside their homes as the coronavirus continues to spread across the country, claiming its 50th state on Tuesday with the first reported case in West Virginia.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice stated on Tuesday that the state had reported its first positive case of the new coronavirus, which now means all 50 states now have confirmed cases.

Justice said the confirmed case is in the state’s Eastern Panhandle and is close to Washing, D.C. He did not mention the county where the illness occurred.

Health officials are encouraging people to avoid close contact with others as it is vital to slow the spread of the virus and keep U.S. hospitals from being overwhelmed with a sudden deluge of patients.

The U.S. surgeon general warned the number of coronavirus cases in the United States had reached a comparable to what disease-battered Italy recorded two weeks ago. The number of cases is a sign that infections will expect to rise in America.

“We are at a critical inflection point in this country, people,” U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told Fox News. “When you look at the projections, there’s every chance that we could be Italy.”

Two weeks ago in Italy, there were 1,700 cases of coronavirus and a report of 34 deaths. Now Italy has reported an estimated 25,000 cases, and more than 1,800 people have died.

The head of the World Health Organization is describing the outbreak as “defining global health crisis of our time,” noting that testing is the top priority.

“You cannot fight a fire blindfolded, and we cannot stop this pandemic if we don’t know who is infected,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus . “We have a simple message for all countries: Test, test, test.”

Compared to other countries, the U.S. has been slower in ramping up its testing capability, though the White House has announced a string of measures last week to speed up the process.