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US President Donald Trump has taken a coronavirus test but said on Saturday that his temperature was “totally normal”, and his administration extended a travel ban to Britain and Ireland to try to contain a pandemic that has shut down much of the daily routine of American life.
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After White House officials took the unprecedented step of checking the temperatures of journalists entering the briefing room, Trump told reporters he took a test for the virus on Friday night and that he expects the results in “a day or two days.” He met with a Brazilian delegation last week, at least one member of which has since tested positive.
The top U.S. infectious diseases expert, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, said the country has recorded 20,226 case of the new coronavirus, but has not yet reached the peak of the outbreak.
“This will get worse before it gets better,” Surgeon General Jerome Adams said at the briefing.
Vice President Mike Pence, who is running the administrations response to the outbreak, told reporters that visits to nursing homes were being suspended to protect the most vulnerable.
Earlier on Saturday, officials in New York said an 82-year-old woman became the states first coronavirus fatality.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the woman, who had previously suffered from emphysema, was hospitalized in Manhattan on March 3. He told reporters that the states tally of cases had risen to 524. Nationwide, more than 2,000 people have been infected and 50 have died.
On Friday, Trump declared a national emergency in a move that he said would bring “the full power of the federal government” to bear on the escalating health crisis by freeing up some $50 billion in aid. He also urged every state to set up emergency centers to help fight the virus.
Extending travel ban
On Saturday, his administration was expected to extend to Britain and Ireland a ban on travel from Europe that would go into effect on Monday night, U.S. and airlines and officials said.
Signaling a new stage in prevention measures to protect U.S. leaders from the coronavirus, the White House on Saturday instituted a policy of checking the temperatures of journalists in the White House briefing room.
The pandemic has forced public schools, sports events and cultural and entertainment venues to close across the United States.
On Friday, AmeriRead More – Source
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