Local officials first line of defence in protecting our communities: Trump on coronavirus

Amid coronavirus outbreak, the United States President Donald Trump said that his administration has made engagement with local leaders a top priority as they play a 'frontline role in battling public health threats'. While addressing the local leaders at the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference, Trump further said that he and his administration are 'working very hard' to expedite the long process of developing a vaccine. Furthermore, his administration is moving with maximum speed to develop therapies so that people can recover as quickly as possible. 

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Trump said, “We’re working very hard to expedite the long process of developing a vaccine. We’re also moving with maximum speed to develop therapies so that we can help people recover as quickly as possible”. 

Further adding, “Since the start of the outbreak, my Administration has taken the most aggressive action in history to protect our citizens . . . We will confront this challenge together, and we will continue to do exactly what we’re doing.”

US Vice President Mike Pence and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force also held a briefing to update Americans on the virus response. Pence said that the Trump administration is making readiness preparations on 'all-hands-on-deck effort'. He said that he is also in close contact with the nation's governors and making sure that each one has all the resources necessary on the ground. 

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120 confirmed cases in US

First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across more than 60 countries since December 2019. According to international media reports, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Washington state rose to 27 and more than 120 cases in the United States have been reported. The deadly virus has also claimed almost nine lives in the country. 

As per reports, the total number of confirmed cases within China has reportedly hit 80,270 and more than 91,000 worldwide. According to reports, the death toll in China has also surpassed 2,900 and the National Health Commission also confirmed more than 119 new cases. The death toll due to the deadly virus across the world also mounted to 3,123. 

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