Trump: They are making a lot of progress in China

US President Donald Trump on Saturday praised the Chinese government for its progress in fighting the epidemic of a new type of coronavirus, saying that the Chinese president had "worked very very hard" and "wanted this to be done".

Trump made the remarks in response to a question about whether his administration would consider similar measures as China to contain the spread of the virus, should the situation worsen.

China has been heavily criticised for putting politics before public safety when they reprimanded a young doctor, who later died of the disease, for warning about China's new virus.

Trump made the remarks at a briefing where officials announced heightened warnings about travel to certain regions of Italy and South Korea as well as a ban on travel to Iran, as infections and deaths continued to rise across the globe Sunday.

The United States recorded its first death, a man in his 50s in Washington state who had underlying health conditions but who hadn’t traveled to any affected areas.

Last week, Trump faced criticism that his administration isn't doing enough to meet the virus threat, and named his Vice President to oversee the response.

The viral outbreak has infected more than 86,000 people globally.