Following the first death from coronavirus in the US, the existing travel ban on Iran would extend to foreign nationals who had been in that country the past 14 days on Saturday. He also urged US citizens not to travel to affected areas of Italy and South Korea. The US has already imposed restriction on entry from China, where the virus originated late last year.
“We want to lower the amount of travel to and from the most impacted areas, this is a basic containment strategy,” said Health Secretary Alex Azar at a joint news conference with President Donald Trump.
The death in the western state comes amid a slowly growing number of cases of community transmission in the US. There are some 62 cases in the country, mostly evacuees from a cruise ship. Of the 22 cases in the US directly, around 15 are in recovery, while several remain ill.
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Trump told reporters at the White House that the deceased person was a “medically high-risk” woman in her late 50s, although a health official in Washington state later said it was a man.
The victim appears to have become ill through local transmission, said Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The investigation at this time shows no evidence of link to travel or a known contact,” Redfield said at the news conference.
Redfield stressed that “the risk to the American public remains low,” echoing comments by Trump, who urged the media to exercise restraint.
“If you are healthy, you will probably go through a process and you will be fine,” the president said. “There is no reason to panic at all. This is something that is being handled professionally.”
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