The Senate passed a coronavirus relief bill and California medical officials believe that the first U.S. death happened weeks earlier than previously believed.

Virus caused U.S. fatalities earlier than previously thought
Officials in Silicon Valley late Tuesday reported two virus-related deaths that predate a Washington state fatality previously believed to be the first victim of COVID-19 in the United States.
The California deaths on Feb. 6 and Feb. 17 were not initially believed to have been related to the coronavirus. 
The first U.S. COVID-19 death was reported Feb. 29 in Wsahington state.
“Today, the Medical Examiner-Coroner received confirmation from the CDC that tissue samples from both cases are positive for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19),” the County of Santa Clara Medical Examiner-Coroner said in a statement.
The examiner-coroner’s office said limited testing criteria set by the federal government meant that the deaths were initially overlooked as possible coronavirus cases. Each victim died at home, it said.
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Harlem church has lost 11 members to COVID-19
The senior pastor of Harlem’s Mount Neboh Baptist Church says that 11 of its members have died from the coronavirus illness COVID-19.
“When my phone rings, I’m always worried: Is it going to be another call with bad news?” Dr. Johnnie Green said Tuesday.
Green said that his congregation believes that faith in God is most authentic when it is tested, and he sees the trials of recent weeks as a test of faith.
“I believe that we’re going to come out stronger,” Green said. 
New York City and state have been called the current epidemic of the coronavirus epidemic in the United States. There have been more than 19,000 deaths statewide, according to an NBC News count of reports that includes more than 4,000 deaths in New York City which are being called probable COVID-19 cases.
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