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
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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:
New: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday there were six more cases of the coronavirus among citizens evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, taking the total number of confirmed cases among Americans to 59.
The agency reported 14 cases in the country and 45 cases among people evacuated from the cruise ship and the city of Wuhan in China.
US health officials on Tuesday alerted Americans to begin preparing for the spread of coronavirus after infections surfaced in several more countries.
Reuters
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 occasions before receiving the diagnosis.
Breaking: At least 700 people who returned to New York from trips in China have been placed under voluntary quarantine as the Wuhan coronavirus continues to spread around the world
Story to come...
The latest: Jill Montag, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health, confirmed an estimated 700 travellers had voluntarily agreed to take part in the 14-day self isolation period after having returned from trips to China — where the coronavirus was believed to have originated — since 3 February.
Though officials said none of the travellers under voluntary quarantine had displayed symptoms associated with the mysterious illness, Ms Montag stated: “Voluntary self-isolation will help limit the potential spread of this virus.”
The news comes a day after US health officials warned the Wuhan coronavirus spreading throughout the country was all but inevitable, with at least 59 cases confirmed as of Wednesday afternoon. The majority of those cases all stem from an outbreak of the virus aboard a luxury cruise liner docked in Japan.
More reports are coming in about New York preparing to be potentially impacted by the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus:
Billionaire presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg has released an advertisement targeting Donald Trump over the president's response to the coronavirus, and just tweeted this message out:
The Independent's Clark Mindock spoke to a professor that predicted the last nine US elections, who had some potentially disastrous news for Donald Trump's re-election bid as the coronavirus continues spreading:
Reports indicate another person in the US has been diagnosed with coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to about 60:
As coronavirus continues to spread to countries across the globe, health organisations are urging governments to prepare for the worst.
Currently, there are 81,191 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 2,768 people have died from the respiratory virus.
To help the public understand the seriousness of coronavirus, health organisations have released graphs that illustrate the global spread of the disease.
Some US universities are reportedly calling off study abroad programs in Italy over coronavirus fears. So far statements have been issued by Syracuse and some New York city universities, Fairfield University, and Elon University confirming they are postponing canceling their programs.
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