First coronavirus death in the U.S. occurs in Washington state

Health officials in Washington state said on Saturday a coronavirus patient has died.

The death is the first from coronavirus illness COVID-19 in the United States.

As of early Saturday, the U.S. has 66 cases of coronavirus, which includes nine people who have recovered and four “presumptive” cases, which are those that tested positive in local tests with confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pending.

Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

Information about who the person is or how they contracted the virus was not immediately released. however, officials scheduled a press conference in King County at 4 p.m.

Washington state along with Oregon and California all reported new cases on Friday. Among the new confirmed or presumptive cases, were three contracted from an unknown source, bringing the total number of what could be "community spread" cases in the United States to four.

The patients from these four cases have no known travel history or exposure to someone who had traveled or been infected. Not all four have been confirmed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testing, but they tested positive locally.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates