Coronavirus US news: Trump speaks publicly as 700 people in New York under voluntary quarantine amid LA outbreak fears after flight attendant confirmed with virus
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Reports of a female flight attendant diagnosed with coronavirus having repeatedly travelling through Los Angeles International airport is sparking fears of an outbreak in the region, as officials confirm 59 cases of the mysterious illness.
The unidentified flight attendant reportedly serviced a flight from Tel Aviv to Seoul on 15 February, and had travelled through the LAX airport on multiple occaisions before receiving the diagnosis. A majority of cases in the US (39) are among Americans evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Tokyo. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has said that while the immediate risk of coronavirus to American citizens is low, the global situation suggested a pandemic is now likely.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is once again attacking the “fake news” media on Twitter over its coverage of the Wuhan coronavirus, a day after US health officials warned the deadly virus would inevitably spread across the country. The president suggested in a series of tweets that the latest developments surrounding the outbreak outbreak were simply the result of news outlets “dong everything possible to make the Coronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible”. The White House has since scheduled a public statement about the virus for 6:00pm EST.
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New York has allocated $40 million in emergency funds to help respond to the outbreak, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today. At this stage there are no confirmed cases in New York. There are, however, approximately 700 people in the state under voluntary quarantine after travelling to China. Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Cuomo spoke separately to discuss a potential outbreak in one of the world's most populated cities. Mr Cuomo called on the CDC and Trump administration for more funding.
The US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, reportedly refused to commit to making a potential coronavirus vaccine affordable. Mr Azar is currently testifying to lawmakers about America's response to the outbreak, during which he said: "We would want to ensure that we work to make it affordable, but we can't control that price, because we need the private sector to invest ... Price controls won't get us there."
As countries around the globe work to combat the spread of coronavirus, misinformation has made the fight against the Covid-19 virus even more difficult.
Here are 13 of the biggest myths and the truth behind them:
Donald Trump is set to make a statement at the White House later today about the COVID-19 virus outbreak in the United States. A live stream of press conference can be found here and is due to being at 6.30pmET.
"The possible spread of Coronavirus inside the United States puts an admitted germaphobe and science skeptic, Donald Trump, in charge of preventing a widespread outbreak in the midst of cold and flu season.
"The US president was at first muted in his public remarks about and response to the virus, but is now scrambling to cobble together a plan that will calm jittery markets and citizens. Federal health officials have put forth different messages about whether Coronavirus is a threat inside the United States, and about just what the federal government can and is doing, leaving Mr Trump backing towards a political wall as his team warns developing a safe and effective vaccine will take months, long after he faces voters again in November in search of a second term..."
Read more from John T Bennett here:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that facial hair may interfere with the effectiveness of face masks and respirators used to combat the spread of diseases such as coronavirus.
Read our full story on this here:
The news conference from the White House on the coronavirus is due to have begun, but there's no sign of the president yet. Currently the "coronavirus task force" are standing next to the podium quietly waiting for Donald Trump to arrive.
After a few minutes wait, Donald Trump has taken to the White House press podium to discuss the coronavirus outbreak. The president says he has just received another briefing from "a great group of talented people about the virus that is going around various parts of the world."
Mr Trump downplayed the impact of the virus in comparison to the CDC warning earlier this week, saying "as most of you know the level we've had in our country is very low ... or at least we think in almost all cases they're better." He insisted that the US has "the best experts in the world" working on the coronavirus.
↵You can read more about what the president said in his statement here:
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