Sj Desk
Donald Trump expects the novel coronavirus, which is claiming lives at an alarming speed as the death toll crosses 1,000 in China, to 'go away' in April due to the hotter weather.
On Monday, the US President told reporters at the White House: “The virus... typically that will go away in April. The heat, generally speaking, kills this kind of virus."
The deadly virus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan has made its way outside country borders as more than 300 cases have been reported globally in at least 25 countries. The United States has 12 confirmed cases of the virus of varying severity.
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Trump praised the efforts of Chinese leader Xi Jinping to curb the coronavirus outbreak. “(I) had a long talk with President Xi... two nights ago,” he said.
“He feels very confident... (that) during the month of April, the heat, generally speaking, kills this type of virus. That would be a good thing.”
Donald Trump, with his prognosis, went against the caution of top US health officials, who advised to not predict the trajectory of the epidemic.
“The issue is, we don’t know,” Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told reporters Friday. He added, “And any kind of prediction would be ill-advised because we really have so many unknowns."
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He said that even if China does succeed in controlling the outbreak, coronavirus could spread to a country without the resources to trace contacts and isolate new cases.
