Coronavirus US news: Trump speaks publicly as 700 people in New York under voluntary quarantine amid LA outbreak fears after flight attendant confirmed with virus
Follow live updates on the virus in the United States
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Reports of a female flight attendant diagnosed with coronavirus having repeatedly travelling through Los Angeles International airport is sparking fears of an outbreak in the region, as officials confirm 59 cases of the mysterious illness.
The unidentified flight attendant reportedly serviced a flight from Tel Aviv to Seoul on 15 February, and had travelled through the LAX airport on multiple occaisions before receiving the diagnosis. A majority of cases in the US (39) are among Americans evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Tokyo. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has said that while the immediate risk of coronavirus to American citizens is low, the global situation suggested a pandemic is now likely.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is once again attacking the “fake news” media on Twitter over its coverage of the Wuhan coronavirus, a day after US health officials warned the deadly virus would inevitably spread across the country. The president suggested in a series of tweets that the latest developments surrounding the outbreak outbreak were simply the result of news outlets “dong everything possible to make the Coronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible”. The White House has since scheduled a public statement about the virus for 6:00pm EST.
Follow live updates below:
'We are taking the necessary steps to protect San Franciscans from harm'
The city of San Francisco, California has declared a state of emergency over the deadly coronavirus after health officials warned its spread across the United States was inevitable.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the state of emergency in a statement on Tuesday, saying “the global picture” surrounding the Wuhan coronavirus was “changing rapidly” and city officials “need to step-up preparedness.”
“We see the virus spreading in new parts of the world every day,” she continued, “and we are taking the necessary steps to protect San Franciscans from harm.”
Read more on this story below:
'You’re the secretary, I think you ought to know that answer'
Senator John Kennedy yesterday criticised Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for a lack of answers during a tense grilling over America's response to coronavirus outbreak.
Mr Wolf failed to answer a number of Mr Kennedy's questions, including how many people are estimated to become infected with Covid-19.
He also struggled with the precise mortality rate for the virus and how it compares to the flu.
“You’re the secretary, I think you ought to know that answer,” Mr Kennedy said at one point.
Mr Kennedy later admonished the DHS secretary for wrongly suggesting that a vaccine could be developed in a matter of months, contradicting testimony from a congressional briefing earlier in the day.
“Your numbers aren’t the same as CDC’s [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention],” he added.
Donald Trump has announced he will be holding a press conference at 6pm today (11pm BST) to discuss Covid-19.
He yesterday tweeted that his administration was "doing a GREAT job of handling" the outbreak.
Matt Hancock, the UK Health secretary, has said that 7,132 people in the UK have been tested for coronavirus.
Of these, 13 have tested positive, and eight have since been discharged from hospital.
He said: "We have a clear, four-part plan to respond to the outbreak of this disease: contain, delay, research and mitigate."
Mr Hancock added guidance has been published in recent days for schools, employers, first responders, social care and the travel industry.
He explained: "If anyone has been in contact with a suspected case in a childcare or an educational setting, no special measures are required while test results are awaited.
"There is no need to close the school or send other students or staff home. Once the results arrive, those who test negative will be advised individually about returning to education.
"In most cases, closure of the childcare or education setting will be unnecessary, but this will be a local decision based on various factors including professional advice."
Financial markets have, suddenly, panicked about the spread of the coronavirus from China and the prospect of a disease pandemic, writes economics editor Ben Chu.
It’s estimated that some $3 trillion (£2.3 trillion) has been wiped off the value of firms over the past four days.
So why is this happening? What exactly do traders fear will happen if Covid-19 does become a pandemic?
And why is this sell-off only happening now given the media has been full of headlines about the spread of coronavirus for months?
Donald Trump has once again attacked the “fake news” media on Twitter over its coverage of the Wuhan coronavirus, a day after US health officials warned the deadly virus would inevitably spread across the country.
The president suggested the latest developments surrounding the outbreak outbreak were simply the result of news outlets “dong everything possible to make the Coronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible”.
ICYMI: The city of San Francisco, California has declared a state of emergency over the deadly coronavirus after health officials warned its spread across the United States was inevitable.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the state of emergency in a statement on Tuesday, saying “the global picture” surrounding the Wuhan coronavirus was “changing rapidly” and city officials “need to step-up preparedness.”
“We see the virus spreading in new parts of the world every day,” she continued, “and we are taking the necessary steps to protect San Franciscans from harm.”
The Independent's Phil Thomas has more on how Donald Trump has been defending his administration's response to the coronavirus outbreak:
Returning from a two-day trip to India, the president responded to a growing chorus of criticism, with even usually loyal Republican politicians questioning whether he is doing enough to protect Americans against the deadly virus.
Mr Trump tweeted: "CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus, including the very early closing of our borders to certain areas of the world.
"It was opposed by the Dems, 'too soon', but turned out to be the correct decision. No matter how well we do, however, the Democrats talking point is that we are doing badly.
"If the virus disappeared tomorrow, they would say we did a really poor, and even incompetent, job. Not fair, but it is what it is. So far, by the way, we have not had one death. Let's keep it that way!"
There's always a tweet.
While Donald Trump seeks to defend his administration from increasing criticism over its response to the coronavirus outbreak, the president's tweets attacking his predecessor over the spread of Ebola have gained renewed focus.
Here's my latest:
Leave it to the CDC to come up with a complete, comprehensive guide for men about what facial hair styles can be worn with a face mask.
The CDC says that certain facial hair can effectively cause face masks to be useless, since the hair blocks the mask from creating the impenetrable seal with the skin required for protection.
Do you have any of the facial hair styles with a red X mark? You may want to consider a fresh shave before putting on a face mask!
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies