In a rare press conference, U.S. President Donald Trump outlined his government's plan of action to stop the spread of the coronavirus and urged the country not to panic.

This came as the first death in the U.S. was confirmed, a man in his late 50s in the Seattle area, one of a number of new cases along the West Coast. The man had underlying health conditions and no history of travel or contact with a known COVID-19 case.

The governor of Washington declared a state of emergency on Saturday. Governor Jay Inslee directed state agencies to use "all resources necessary" to prepare for and respond to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The declaration also allows the use of the Washington National Guard, if necessary.

"We will continue to work toward a day where no one dies from this virus," the governor vowed.

Health officials in California, Oregon and Washington state are worried about the novel coronavirus spreading through West Coast communities because a growing number of people are being infected despite not having visited an area where there was an outbreak, or apparently been in contact with anyone who had.

The U.S. has about 60 confirmed cases. Worldwide, the virus has now hit 61 countries, with 83,000 people sickened, prompting the World Health Organization to raise its risk assessment to its highest level.

Trump: China is making lots of progress 

When answered a question from CCTV reporter in regards to China's efforts on fighting the coronavirus, Trump hailed the measures China has taken and said China is making lots of progress. 

He also suggested that the virus had strengthened relations between the two countries who are still in talks to fix a phase two trade deal.

Trump outlines the U.S. preparation

"Our country is prepared for any circumstance. We hope it's not going to be a major circumstance. It'll be a smaller circumstance. But whatever the circumstances, we're prepared," said Trump. "We would respectfully ask the media and politicians and everybody else involved not do anything to incite a panic because there's no reason to panic at all."

Under orders from the coronavirus task force, the State Department is warning U.S. citizens not to travel to specific regions of Italy and South Korea that are most affected by virus. The State Department will work with authorities in those countries to screen anyone coming to the U.S. It will also bar all foreign nationals who visited Iran in the past 14 days.

The White House will meet with pharmaceutical companies to discuss a possible vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is establishing a nationwide testing infrastructure, aiming to have every state capable of testing for the virus by the end of next week. The White House and the National Academy of Sciences have created a committee of experts to help fight the virus.

Congress is getting a spending bill to fight the virus, ready for early next week. They are expected to agree to 6-8 billion U.S. dollars, triple what the White House suggested.

Democrats have criticized the White House's preparations, reminding it that it had tried to cut the budget of the CDC.

The outbreak has worried the markets, with the Dow Jones recording its worst week since the 2008 recession. The Federal Reserve has suggested they will cut interest rates if the economy needs an extra boost.

(With input from agencies)