Coronavirus outbreak: Donald Trump lauds US officials for not having even 'one death'

Amid the outbreak of deadly coronavirus, the United States President Donald Trump has lauded his administration along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for doing a “great job” in handling the crisis. After returning from his maiden trip to India, Trump also took a dig on the Democrats who were critical about the early closing of US borders and said that it was, “too soon”. Moreover, while the death toll of the COVID-19 in China has reached 2,715, Trump bragged about not having even “one death”. 

According to Trump, no matter what the Republicans do, Democrats will criticise them for “doing badly”. On the other hand, if the coronavirus disappeared, the US President said that Democrats would call out Trump administration for being “incompetent”. However, he then adds, "it is what it is". As of February 24, the CDC has confirmed 53 positive cases of coronavirus including the ones who have been repatriated to the US. 

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'Coronavirus spread in US is certain'

Dr Nancy Messonnier of the United States CDC said in a call with reporters on February 25 that a wider spread of coronavirus in the country is certain. While America's counterparts in Europe and Asia have scrambled to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 and the illnesses caused by the pathogen, CDC has warned the citizens to embrace themselves. According to an international news agency, the health officials also added new urgency to response efforts of the disease which was originated in China in late December.

Messonnier said, “it's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen, and how many people in this country will have a severe illness.” 

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases in South Korea have jumped again as of February 26 including the first case of a US soldier in a military camp based in the Asian country. The US military said in a statement that a 23-year-old soldier was in self-quarantine at his off-base residence and had been based in Camp Carroll in a town near Daegu. Currently, the South Korean health officials are determining the contacts of the soldier. 

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(With AP inputs)