Coronavirus: Trump shakes hands with crowd of supporters despite White House telling elderly to avoid contact

President will not stop using greeting, says Mike Pence

Donald Trump has shaken hands with a crowd of cheering fans, despite official advice to avoid the greeting amid a growing coronavirus outbreak which leaves older patients particularly at risk.

The 73-year-old US president made physical contact with a row of supporters shouting “we love you” and “good job” after touching down in Florida.

Mike Pence, the vice-president, has said that neither he nor Mr Trump will stop shaking hands, despite authorities advising against it.

”As the president has said, in our line of work, you shake hands when someone wants to shake your hand,” he said. “The president will continue to do it, I will continue to do it.”

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has urged people to stop using the greeting to avoid spreading or catching the flu-like virus, which has infected over 950 people and been involved in 30 deaths in the US to date.

The national health body has advised older adults – who are “at higher risk of getting very sick from this illness” – to take particular care to avoid catching Covid-19.

Mr Trump – who has previously described himself as a “germaphobe” – has continued to offer handshakes to people despite the growing outbreak, including to the crowd of fans waiting for him to arrive in Orlando, Florida for a fundraising event on Monday.

The president has also shaken hands with the chairman of a conservative conference who had reportedly come into contact with an attendee later diagnosed with coronavirus.

A Fox News correspondent has pleaded with colleague Sean Hannity to tell Mr Trump to stop using this physical greeting “for the good of the nation”.

“It’s a bad example, we don’t need it,” Geraldo Rivera said.

The US president said earlier this week that he was open to testing for coronavirus, after several members of Congress were exposed to an infected person at the CPAC conference.

Doug Collins – who Mr Trump shook hands with last week – is now among politicians in self-quarantine after being exposed to the virus.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz has said he will be staying at home in Texas after touching the person who tested positive for Covid-19 at the conference.

The US president attempted to reassure the American public over the virus on Tuesday, saying “we’re prepared, and we’re doing a great job with it.”

He said: “Just stay calm. It’ll go away, just stay calm.”

Covid-19 has now infected over 110,000 people in the world after the first cases were reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan towards the end of last year.

Nearly 4,300 people have died from the flu-like disease, which can develop into pneumonia, according to a Reuters tally.

The White House has been approached for comment.