WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump says 22 people in the U.S. have been stricken by the new coronavirus and additional cases in the United States are “likely.”
Trump provided an update on the virus after the first reported U.S. death Saturday, whom he described as a woman in her late 50s who was a high medical risk.
Additionally, the administration said it’s banning travel to Iran in response to the outbreak of the new coronavirus and it's elevating travel warnings to regions of Italy and South Korea.
The president says that healthy Americans should be able to recover if they contract the new virus.
The virus threat has spooked global markets and the public at large.
Trump is cautioning that “there’s no reason to panic at all.”
Trump’s remarks came a day after he denounced criticism of his response to the threat as a “hoax" cooked up by his political enemies.
This was the second presser Trump held over the virus this week. On Wednesday, he announced that Vice President Mike Pence would lead the country in combating COVID-19 and said his administration is prepared for what is to come.
WATCH SATURDAY'S PRESS CONFERENCE BELOW:
