US President Donald Trump has commended his Chinese counterpart for his country’s quick response to a rapidly moving coronavirus outbreak, as additional cases of the illness were confirmed in Europe, Australia and the US.
The fatality count jumped by another 15, to 41 in total by Saturday, with most of the deaths involving elderly patients with pre-existing conditions, all of them in China. The quickly climbing disease toll stands at nearly 1,300 cases nationwide, according to Chinese health officials.
With the second infection confirmed in the US, three in Australia and three more in France, President Trump extended gratitude to Xi Jinping for Beijing’s aggressive efforts to contain the new coronavirus – dubbed 2019-nCoV – which include tight travel restrictions for some 20 million citizens across 13 Chinese cities.
China has been working very hard to contain the coronavirus... It will all work out well.
“The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency,” Trump said. “In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”
The second case in the US was confirmed earlier on Friday in Chicago, with 63 more patients still under observation. Two US senators, however, told reporters that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could soon confirm a third American patient.
The first diagnoses in Europe were announced around the same time, with three infections observed in France – one in Bordeaux, another in Paris, while the location of the third has yet to be disclosed. All three patients had traveled to China recently, according to French officials
With its epicenter in the city of Wuhan, the virus has now spread to 29 of China’s 31 provinces. Cases have also been confirmed in Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Nepal and South Korea, as well as the US and France, with suspected infections in several other countries. Officials in all of the affected nations have implemented screening at airports and border crossings in the hope of catching carriers before they can transmit the illness further.
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