California announced its first death from the novel 2019 coronavirus on Wednesday, following nine in Washington state since Saturday. Placer County Public Health officials said on Wednesday that the California patient, an elderly adult with underlying health conditions, had tested positive for the virus after returning from a cruise—though it was not the same disastrous Diamond Princess ship that made headlines after it left hundreds infected off the coast of Japan. The patient had been aboard another Princess cruise ship, which picked travelers up in San Francisco on Feb. 10, went to Mexico, and returned on Feb. 21. Close contacts of the patient were being quarantined and monitored, reported The Los Angeles Times.
