Published 05:54 IST, March 2nd 2020
Amid Coronavirus scare, Donald Trump announces new screening procedures for travelers
President Donald Trump on Sunday announced new coronavirus screening procedures for passengers travelling to the United States after one succumbed to the deadly
President Donald Trump on Sunday announced new Coronavirus screening procedures for passengers travelling to the United States. Donald Trump on Sunday morning tweeted the new procedure where he informed that passengers travelling to the United States from certain designated high-risk countries will be screened twice, once before the departure and once after arriving in America. The latest development came after the United States reported the first death from novel coronavirus on February 29.
Trump on Sunday held a press conference where he gave an update on the coronavirus situation in the country and also urged citizens to not panic. Trump at the briefing said, "We respectfully ask the media and politicians and everybody else involved not to do anything to incite the panic because there's no reason to panic at all." Trump in the briefing stated that there are currently 22 people with coronavirus cases in the United States and confirmed the death of one person. The US citizen who died of coronavirus belonged to the Washington state and was a 'medically high-risk' patient in her late 50s.
Coronavirus outbreak
The new coronavirus also known as COVID-19 has claimed more than 3,000 lives across the globe and has infected over 88,000 people since December 2019. According to reports, at least 106 people have died outside mainland China, which makes it the worst disease outbreak in the 21st century. Iran and Italy have reported the most number of deaths outside China due to COVID-19. While Iran confirmed 42 deaths due to the virus, Italy had reported 29 deaths as of February 29. The virus originated from a seafood market in Wuhan city, where animals were being traded illegally. Hubei province in China has been most affected by the contagious disease, which is also the epicentre of the virus.
Updated 05:54 IST, March 2nd 2020