MARTHA BELLISLE and ADAM GELLER
Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — Authorities closed Seattle's schools and banned large gatherings Wednesday across the hard-hit metropolitan area and in San Francisco, undertaking the most sweeping efforts yet to contain the nation's coronavirus outbreak.
In a state where at least 25 victims have died — 19 of them from the same suburban Seattle nursing home — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee prohibited activities involving more than 250 people. The ban, encompassing an area of 4 million people, applies to houses of worship and baseball's Seattle Mariners, whose home games will be moved.
"This is not just your ordinary flu," Inslee said. "This demands a response consistent with the nature of the threat."
In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed banned all ga
