The number of US deaths from the novel coronavirus rose to six on Monday, all in the state of Washington, according to the officials.

Vice President Mike Pence announced a treatment for the disease could be available by summer or early fall, but that a vaccine was farther off.

Pence, the administration’s point man for the crisis, also said the government was moving to screen 100 per cent of passengers flying in from Italy and South Korea, two serious virus hot zones.

Five of the six American fatalities have been from King county, the most populous in Washington state and home to Seattle, a city of more than 700,000 people. The sixth victim was from neighbouring Snohomish county, officials further added.

According to the report, four new cases, three from the same nursing home, taking the total number of US cases to more than 90 — about half of which were people repatriated from either China or a virus-stricken cruise ship off Japan.

Earlier on Monday, the deadly coronavirus outbreak has claimed 3,000 lives after China reported 42 recent deaths. The new fatalities were all in the virus epicentre Hubei province, the National Health Commission said, bringing the overall toll in mainland China to 2, 943.

Last week, President Donald Trump announced a news conference from the White House on the coronavirus epidemic with experts warning they expect it to spread in the United States.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday that the virus appears to particularly hit those over the age of 60 and people already weakened by other illnesses.

New travel protocols “will ensure that anyone travelling on a direct flight to the United States of America receives multiple screenings at all airports in Italy and South Korea,” he said.

Italy has had 1,700 cases and South Korea has had 4,000.

The United States is also drastically expanding its diagnostic efforts after coming under fire for not testing enough.

Meanwhile, according to reports, around 85 Indian students stranded for a week in the university town of Pavia in north Italy’s Lombardy region, which has reported 17 Coronavirus deaths over the past few days, have sent an SOS seeking evacuation at the earliest.

The novel Coronavirus outbreak has caused alarm as it has crossed global fatalities in the 2002-03 SARS epidemic.

(With inputs from agency)