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Coronavirus: South Korea reports 'critical moment' after 813 new cases – latest updates Coronavirus: Trump says US response 'most aggressive in modern history'
(about 2 hours later)
US strengthens travel advice, raising Iran and Italy to a level three, advising people to ‘avoid nonessential travel’. Follow live news US confirms first death in Washington state and strengthens travel advice, raising Iran and Italy to a level three. Follow live news
Now to questions:
Trump is asked about his remarks in Charleston about the outbreak being a hoax.
“Hoax referred to the action they [Democrats] tried to take to try to pin this on somebody,” he says, “certainly not” to the coronavirus.
Was Dr Anthony Fauci – standing next to president – ever muzzled?
“That’s a very dishonest question,” says Trump, adding: “He was never muzzled.”
Fauci doesn’t seem keen to speak but he clarifies that “has never been muzzled ever”. He says he merely stood down on some media appearances to clarify what he should be doing and when.
Will the southern border be closed?
Trump says it’s being looked at – the new cases overnight were reported at the other end of the country, in the north west.
Should Americans change their daily routine?
Trump and officials say no.
A South Korean question about US troops there: “We care very much for the troops,” Trump says. It’s all working out fine, he says.
Back to the word “hoax”. Could it make people think he is saying the virus was a hoax even if he wasn’t?
He says no, then spins to talking about how well his administration has performed on coronavirus so far.
Alex Azar is also expressing sympathy for the family of the Washington state patient who died, referring to her as a woman. He repeats official guidance about the risks from coronavirus and says the government wants to follow a “basic containment strategy” in terms of travel.
Next, Dr Anthony Fauci who does not refer to the gender of the person who died. And in fact, Governor Inslee’s statement has been changed to remove reference to the gender of the person who died too.
Pence is up now. He expresses condolences to the family of the “woman in Washington state who has lost her life to the coronavirus”.
Here’s Governor Inslee’s statement saying the person who died was a man:
Pence commends Trump for his guidance of course and then announces:
Additional travel restrictions on Iran
An increase to the highest level for the advisory that Americans should not travel to specific regions in Italy and South Korea
The state department will co-ordinate screening in those countries of individuals coming to America
Pence then commends the members of his task force for their work and says he has spoken to congressional leaders about a supplementary funding bill for federal agencies and for state and local authorities.
“The average American does not need to go out and buy a mask,” Pence says. But 3M will produce 30m more masks a month nonetheless and availability will be increased.
Risks remain low, Pence says, but Trump’s actions “give evidence to the fact that at his direction we’re going to continue to lead in this effort”.
Trump says his administration has taken “the most aggressive action in modern history to confront this disease” and says moving quickly has put the US ahead of the game. China seems to be making tremendous progress, he says, and “their numbers are way down”.
Trump is repeating his “most aggressive” claim for the US response, in comparison to all other countries. On Monday, he says, he’ll be meeting pharmaceutical companies to discuss a developing a vaccine “very rapidly”.
“Tremendous amounts of supplies are already on hand,” he says – there have been problems with federal testing kits.
Pence led a task force meeting this morning, Trump says, and they came up with some “pretty strict edicts”.
“Our country is prepared for any circumstance, we hope it’s not going to be a major circumstance,” he says, asking the media and politicians not to do “anything to incite panic at all”.
Here’s what Trump said at a rally last night:
Trump is addressing the press flanked by Mike Pence, the vice-president he put in charge of coronavirus response efforts to not-universal acclaim, and federal health officials. It’s a long preamble on Afghanistan, in which Trump said he would personally meet Taliban leaders soon and said the US could yet go back in “with a force like nobody’s ever seen”. So much for that.
The coronavirus outbreak is very important to many people, Trump says, paying tribute to the officials with him and others in a more than usually husky voice. A lot of progress has been made, he says, and he will update us here. Remember, the first US death was confirmed just before he came out.
There are 22 patients in the US – the president says one person died overnight and it was a woman in her late 50s. Washington state governor Jay Inslee just announced it was a man.
Trump begins by congratulating the “incredible people” who have worked so long on “our longest war” in Afghanistan for what he says is 20 years. It’s actually a little more than 18 since the invasion in 2001 but regardless an agreement was signed in Doha this morning with the Taliban, committing the US to troop withdrawals if the Taliban keeps the peace.
We’ll concentrate on the coronavirus news here of course, so here’s our report on the Afghanistan deal:
Here in the US the first coronavirus death has been confirmed, in Washington state out on the west coast. I’m in New York City but the president is at the White House in Washington DC and he is about to give a news conference. We’ll blog it live. Here he comes.
US confirms first death from the coronavirus in King county in Washington state.
Reuters reports that the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Italy has climbed above 1,000, according to an official who said the number of deaths had surged to 29.Reuters reports that the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Italy has climbed above 1,000, according to an official who said the number of deaths had surged to 29.
This is from the Associated Press.This is from the Associated Press.
Iraq has detected five new cases of the coronavirus, four in Baghdad and one in the central Babel province, the country’s health ministry has announced, taking the total number of cases in the country to 13.Iraq has detected five new cases of the coronavirus, four in Baghdad and one in the central Babel province, the country’s health ministry has announced, taking the total number of cases in the country to 13.
The patients were placed in quarantine, days after Iraq banned public gatherings and barred entry by travellers from Kuwait and Bahrain. It has now prohibited travel to or from a total of nine countries.The patients were placed in quarantine, days after Iraq banned public gatherings and barred entry by travellers from Kuwait and Bahrain. It has now prohibited travel to or from a total of nine countries.
Iraq has cultural and religious ties with Iran and annually receives millions of Iranian pilgrims. An Iraqi family of four, the first known Iraqis to have caught the disease, who returned from Iran tested positive for the coronavirus in Kirkuk province on Tuesday.Iraq has cultural and religious ties with Iran and annually receives millions of Iranian pilgrims. An Iraqi family of four, the first known Iraqis to have caught the disease, who returned from Iran tested positive for the coronavirus in Kirkuk province on Tuesday.
However, it was not immediately clear if the five new cases announced on Saturday were people who had recently been in Iran.However, it was not immediately clear if the five new cases announced on Saturday were people who had recently been in Iran.
The Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland has said the region’s first case of coronavirus, which was announced on Thursday, has now been confirmed by laboratory tests.
The case was initially announced as a “presumptive positive” on the basis of tests carried out in Northern Ireland. A sample was then sent to a Public Health England reference laboratory for confirmation.
Ruth Hutchinson, interim director of public health for Surrey County Council, said the council remains in “continuous contact” with Public Health England (PHE) after a confirmed case in the county on Friday.
Hutchinson said in a statement:
In the few minutes since I last posted, I have already had a number of emails from readers about the essentials they are stocking up their cupboards with in the event that the coronavirus outbreak leads to a major public health crisis in the UK.
Many of those who have written have said they are getting in provisions because they live alone and so if they have to self-isolate they will not be able to send anyone else out to the shops in their behalf. Others have pre-existing health issues and so they are preparing for the potential of extended periods away from human contact, in order to avoid contracting Covid-19.
One reader writes:
The same correspondent, who preferred to go unidentified, does later admit to having been “a quasi prepper for some years.
“Feels like my stuff may be put to use, unfortunately.”
Other readers are simply bolstering existing stockpiles that they had already built up amid fears of chaos caused by a hard Brexit. Writes one:
And Stu Goulden tweeted to me:
With the number of confirmed coronavirus infections rising in the UK, and quarantine zones springing up across Europe, are people in Britain beginning to panic buy groceries?
This customer circular email from Ocado, the online retailer, suggests they are. Ocado says it is “experiencing exceptionally high demand” from customers who “seem to be placing particularly large orders.” Here is the email:
Place your order a little further in advance than you might normally. Ideally, try two or three days before.
If you can be flexible, book yourself a weekday delivery (Monday–Thursday) instead of a weekend one. We’re unusually busy Friday to Saturday at the moment.
Are you panic buying in anticipation of the possibility of quarantine rules being imposed in your area? If you are send me a message telling me why, and what kinds of things you are buying in. Remember, you can reach me at damien.gayle@theguardian.com or via my Twitter profile, @damiengayle.
The Paris half-marathon, which was scheduled for Sunday with 44,000 registered runners, has been cancelled over fears of coronavirus, French news agency AFP reports.
The number of people tested for coronavirus in Scotland has risen by more than 100 in a day, with no confirmed cases, PA reports.
Three more patients have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, bringing the total here to 23. Two of the latest diagnosed patients had just returned from Italy, and the third from Asia, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.
The cases are from Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire and Berkshire, the PA News Agency reports.
Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said: “All three are being investigated and contact tracing has begun.”
The French government banned public gatherings with more than 5,000 people on Saturday due to the coronavirus outbreak as France reported 16 new cases, Reuters reports.
“All public gatherings of more than 5,000 people in a confined space are temporarily banned across France,” Health Minister Olivier Veran told journalists. He also that the number of confirmed cases had risen to 73 and that there had been no new deaths.
Health officials are tracing anyone who has been in contact with a coronavirus patient who became the first to catch the illness within the UK, PA News Agency reports.