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

Donald Trump says 'when it gets a little warmer' the coronavirus will 'miraculously go away'

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:

Key Points

• 700 people in voluntary quarantine in New York
• Flight attendant who repeatedly visited LAX confirmed with virus
• US soldier infected in South Korea
• WHO expert says world 'not ready' for pandemic

[27 February 2020 00:18 · Tom Barnes]

Trump disagrees with his own health experts

The president has disagreed with his own health experts who have warned it was inevitable that coronavirus would spread within the US.

You can read more here:

[27 February 2020 00:57 · Tom Barnes]

Facebook bans ads making false coronavirus claims

Facebook said Wednesday that it is banning ads that make false claims about products tied to the new coronavirus.

The social network said it is removing ads that feature a product and imply a limited supply, seeking create a “sense of urgency” in their mention of coronavirus. Ads that guarantee a cure or prevention are also banned, it said.

For instance, ads for face masks that claim the products are 100 per cent guaranteed to prevent the spread of the virus are not allowed, the company said.

The ban went into effect this week. Facebook had previously banned ads, along with regular unpaid posts, that peddle fake cures such as drinking bleach, spread conspiracy theories about the virus, or discourage people from seeking medical treatment.

The ban went into effect as the World Health Organization reported that the number of new cases outside China exceeded the number of new infections inside the country for the first time on Tuesday. The COVID-19 virus has now spread to at least 39 countries.

[27 February 2020 01:18 · Tom Barnes]

South Korea and US postpone joint military drills over coronavirus

South Korea and the United States will postpone joint military drills until further notice, defense officials in Seoul said on Thursday, amid a growing coronavirus outbreak in South Korea that has now infected soldiers from both countries.

The US military reported its first case of the coronavirus on Wednesday, in a 23-year-old soldier based in Camp Carroll, about 20 km (12 miles) from Daegu, where most of the country's 1,595 cases have been reported.

The South Korean military has also reported a number of infections, and has confined most troops to their bases. 

Reuters

[27 February 2020 02:01 · Tom Barnes]

That's it for our coverage for today, thanks for reading.