‘No Reason to Panic’: Trump Confirms Coronavirus Death, Additional Cases ‘Likely’ in US
During a press conference from the briefing room at the White House on Saturday, President Donald Trump confirmed there has been one death in the United States as a result of the coronavirus, and that it is likely there will be more cases reported in the U.S. in the coming weeks.
The presser included remarks from Trump, followed by Vice President Mike Pence, who is heading the administration’s coronavirus task force, as well as more detailed information from HHS Secretary Alex Azar and others.
The president confirmed the news, which broke shortly before the presser, that the United States has now joined the list of countries where the outbreak has resulted in death.
“At this moment we have 22 patients in the United States currently that have coronavirus. Unfortunately one person passed away overnight,” said Trump. “She was a wonderful woman, a medically high-risk patient in her late fifties. Four others are very ill. Thankfully, fifteen are either recovered fully or they’re well on their way to recovery, and in all cases, they’ve been let go in their homes.”
“Additional cases in the United States are likely,” said Trump. “But healthy individuals should be able to fully recover, and we think that will be a statement that we can make with great surety now that we’ve gotten familiar with this problem. They should be able to recover should they contract the virus. So healthy people, if you’re healthy, you will probably go through a process and you’ll be fine.”
Trump also asked the media and politicians and “everybody else involved” to “not do anything to incite a panic.”
“There’s no reason to panic, at all,” said Trump. “This is something that is being handled professionally.”
Vice President Pence during his remarks announced an increase to a level 4 travel advisory for parts of Italy and North Korea where the outbreak has spread more quickly, and announced the administration is working with manufacturers to increase the availability of masks, but advised that the “average American does not need to go out and buy a mask.”
