From the Liveblog of
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Trump says not to panic after first coronavirus death in US
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleUS President Donald Trump said Saturday that despite the first death on US soil from the new coronavirus, the threat to Americans remains low and there is no reason for “panic.”
Trump confirms that the first fatality, announced by officials in Washington state, is a woman in her late 50s. She lived in King county, which includes Seattle, local officials said.
“Additional cases in the United States are likely,” Trump tells a White House news conference, adding that “healthy individuals should be able to fully recover.”
“Our country is prepared for any circumstance,” Trump insists, calling on “the media and politicians and everybody else involved not to do anything to incite panic.”
The Republican leader and other officials also announce a more complete ban on travel from Iran, which has seen a rapid spread of the disease, and encouraged Americans to avoid travel to hard-hit areas in Italy and South Korea.
US Vice President Mike Pence, charged by Trump to lead efforts against the virus, says that an existing ban on travel from Iran had been expanded to include any foreign national who has visited the Islamic republic within the last 14 days.
Trump says he would meet with leaders of big pharmaceutical groups at the White House on Monday to discuss treatments and efforts to develop a vaccine to combat the virus.
— AFP
The Times of Israel Community.