Published 08:53 IST, February 11th 2020
Donald Trump expects Coronavirus to disappear in the month of April
Donald Trump said Monday that the coronavirus that has claimed over 1000 lives in China is expected to vanish in April due to the hotter weather.
US President Donald Trump reportedly said Monday that the coronavirus that has claimed over 1000 lives in China is expected to vanish in April due to the hotter weather. He told reporters at the White House that the virus, shall typically go away in April, the heat, generally speaking, kills that kind of virus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the US, the country currently has 12 confirmed cases of the coronavirus (2019-nCov) of varying severity, 318 cases with pneumonia-like symptoms tested negative and at least 68 cases are under speculation, suggest reports.
Trump told the media that he had a long talk with President XI Jinping of China two nights ago, he feels very confident that due to a surge in the temperature in April, the virus will disappear and that would be a good thing.
Flu-like viruses tend to thrive in colder
He further added that for reasons that aren’t fully understood, flu-like viruses tend to thrive in colder, dryer seasons and the new coronavirus could follow suit — putting a brake on the outbreak with the arrival of milder weather.
Trump lauded China’s leader Xi for the country’s efficacious measures in the containment of the Wuhan 2019-nCov as millions in China remain quarantined and under travel ban to stem the global spread of Wuhan virus via human-to-human transmission.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told reporters that it wasn’t ascertained through the scientific evidence what curbed the disease. He said that the issue was, authorities do not know, and any kind of prediction would be ill-advised.
He further added that in the best scenario, the Chinese would contain the outbreak and there would be a stop to its international spread. But China could fail to control the outbreak or, even if it were successful, the virus could spread to a country without the resources to trace contacts and isolate new cases, he added.
(with inputs from agencies)
Updated 10:48 IST, February 11th 2020