Inslee, right, talks to the media about Washington's coronavirus efforts on Monday, March 2. Rachel La Corte/AP

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee advised residents to stay home more in order to avoid the spread of novel coronavirus.

“We think folks should begin to think about avoiding large events and assemblies,” Inslee said in a news conference Monday.

Washington is the only state in the United States so far where people have died as a result of coronavirus. There are six confirmed fatalities out of 18 total cases in Washington.

Inslee said he has the power to declare an emergency and force large events to be canceled, but he does not think that step is necessary right now.

The governor also said he has the ability to call up the National Guard if needed to assist medical teams and provide security. Inslee says he discussed the possibility of eventually using military assets in a phone call with Vice President Mike Pence, the head of the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force.

Four of the people who died of coronavirus were residents of a single nursing home, Life Care Center in Kirkland. Officials have not speculated about how those patients may have been infected, but Washington Secretary of Health John Wiesman tells reporters, “If I have a loved one in a nursing home or a hospital, I should not go visit them if I’m sick.”