Coronavirus US news - live: Stocks plummet again as top Democrat says epidemic will be Trump's Hurricane Katrina
Dow Jones makes largest one-day point decline in history as president tries to calm market fears
California's governor reported more than 8,400 people in the state are under medical monitoring after a potential mass exposure to a deadly coronavirus has forced health officials into action, as Donald Trump continued to downplay the threat of the virus while US markets plummeted to historic lows.
Meanwhile, a recently revealed whistleblower report claims that US health officials sent crews to evacuate Americans from China without any protective gear or training as they entered the outbreak's epicentre in Wuhan.
The Dow Jones made its largest one-day point decline in history, surpassing Monday's 1,031-point drop, despite the president's attempts to calm market fears that the US was working to contain the outbreak.
Health officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed more than 60 cases in the US and said more were expected to come in the following weeks.
But the president's appointment of Vice President Mike Pence to lead the administration's response has rattled officials, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi telling reporters at her weekly briefing that she discussed her concerns with his role.
Meanwhile, Mr Pence told his allies that "we're ready for anything" while the White House takes control of all coronavirus-related messaging and statements, silencing health officials in the administration and across the federal response.
He also tapped National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow - who falsely claimed just two days ago that the virus outbreak has been "contained" - to the government's coronavirus task force.
Janet Yellen, the former chair of the Federal Reserve, said the coronavirus “could throw the United States into a recession” if it substantially hits the country. Confirmed cases of the virus have increased in recent days across the globe, with fears of a potential pandemic only continuing to grow.
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Iran's vice-president has been diagnosed with coronavirus, state media have reported, as the country struggles to continue to spread of the disease.
Masoumeh Ebtekar is among 254 people infected with the virus in the Middle Eastern nation, where 26 people have been killed by the outbreak.
She is better known internationally as the English-language spokeswoman for the hostage-takers who seized the US embassy in Tehran in 1979, sparking a 444-day diplomatic crisis.
Here's more on the growing backlash over Donald Trump's decision to appoint Mike Pence to over his administration's handling of the coronavirus outbreak:
Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren is hitting out at Donald Trump over his "bungled" response to the coronavirus spread, after the president appointed Mike Pence to oversee his administration's handling of the outrbreak:
As airlines worldwide ground planes and lay off staff as a result of the coronavirus, one US carrier aims to get people travelling by suspending its normal fare rules.
JetBlue, a “boutique” airline based in New York with a big hub at Boston, says passengers who want to cancel or change their trips can do so without penalty.
The new policy applies even to “Blue Basic” fares, which normally do not allow for any changes or cancellations.
California patient waited 'days' to be tested as residents protest plans to house patients in their neighbourhoods
Despite the urging of doctors, a coronavirus patient in California waited several days to be tested, likely becoming one of the first people in the US to be infected through community spread, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Officials said the patient may have been exposed to the virus by an infected person who travelled back into the US. But because of narrow federal guidelines for testing criteria, the patient waited several days for a positive diagnosis.
As health officials warn of impending infections through similar exposures, residents in one California community are protesting plans to move infected patients into a state-owned facility in Orange County. Residents in Alabama and near military bases housing quarantine zones also have protested officials' plans to house patients in their respective area.
It's a glimpse of the potential land battle ahead as communities become gripped by discrimination and fear in the wake of rising rates of the virus.
Dow Jones drops more than 800 points amid coronavirus fears
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted sharply on Thursday, marking one of the worst weeks on Wall Street since the financial crisis.
It dropped more than 800 points as analysts warned that the spread of the coronavirus into the US has stoked investor worries.
The latest drop follows Donald Trump's address to the US to calm fears about the market's recovery, pointing to his handling of the crisis and the appointment of Mike Pence to oversee the administration's response.
In 2014, Trump slammed Obama's Ebola 'czar' for lack of medical experience. He just appointed Mike Pence to handle the coronavirus.
There's always a tweet.
After slamming Barack Obama for the former president's appointment of a "czar" to oversee his administration's response to Ebola, Donald Trump has put his VP Mike Pence in charge of coronavirus.
Pence, obviously, does not have a background in medicine, public health or infectious disease control.
WHO: 'We are at a decisive point'
As the number of new cases of coronavirus outside China eclipses the number of new cases in the country, the World Health Organisation told world leaders that "this is your window of opportunity".
At today's briefing, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom said: "If you act aggressively now, you can contain this virus. You can prevent people getting sick. You can save lives. So my advice to these countries is to move swiftly."
Dr Adhanom urged leaders to adopt a "comprehensive" approach to combatting the virus and to be ready to "detect cases early, to isolate patients, trace contacts, provide quality clinical care, prevent hospital outbreaks, and prevent community transmission".
He said: "Once again, this is not a time for fear. This is a time for taking action now to prevent infections and save lives now. ... Fear and panic doesn’t help. People can have concerns and rightly so. People can be worried and rightly so. The most important thing is to calm down and do the right things to fight this very dangerous virus."
US health secretary: new CDC test will be sent to public health labs
US Department of Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar says there are at least 40 public health labs that can test for coronavirus specimens, though the number of the available facilities could double this week.
He told Congress that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tested more than 3,600 specimens as of today.
A new CDC test will be sent to 100 health labs beginning next week, he said.
Pelosi 'expressed concerns' to Pence about his appointment to coronavirus czar
In her weekly address, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she spoke with Vice President Mike Pence about his appointment to handle the administration's response to the coronavirus, pointing to his "slashing" of public health funding in Indiana, where he served as governor.
She said Donald Trump's "opaque and chaotic" response to the health crisis, including cutting $700m to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention even after global warnings of an impending threat to the US, as well as Health Secretary Alex Azar's admission that the availability of a vaccine would require cooperation from the private sector.
"Really?" she said. "This would be a vaccine developed with taxpayer's dollars ... It should be available to everyone, not dependent on Big Pharma."
Her remarks follow a joint statement with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, calling on the allocation of emergency funds to address the outbreak.
The funding criteria would require new funds "not stolen from other accounts", with affordable vaccines, interest-free loans to small businesses impacted by the outbreak, and reimbursements to state and local governments assisting with federal response.
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