Trump: Coronavirus outbreak 'not a surprise' because of China
US 'would even help Iran' deal with virus, the president says
President Trump said he wasn’t surprised by the coronavirus outbreak, having heard about it “very quietly” from China a couple of months ago.
Trump credited his “very wise decision” to quarantine travelers arriving from China with slowing the spread of the virus in the U.S., he said during an interview with FOX News’ Sean Hannity Wednesday night.
The president said he made the decision to screen travelers arriving from China “against the advice of a lot of great professionals” who told him it was “too soon.”
“That’s why we have a very small number of people that we have to really worry about,” he said.
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Currently, there are 129 diagnosed cases in the U.S. with 11 deaths. There are more than 93,000 cases around the world with around 3,100 deaths.
President Donald Trump speaks in the press briefing room at the White House, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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The U.S. has offered assistance to a number of other countries dealing with the outbreak, according to Trump. He said the U.S. "would even help Iran if they wanted." The U.S has sparred with the Islamic Republic for years and its people often denounce Trump and the U.S. at protests in the streets of Tehran.
"You know, they were hit very hard,” said Trump
The president’s comments on Iran came after The New York Times published a story detailing ways that Iranian officials have downplayed the severity of the outbreak in the country even as they’ve been ill-equipped to handle it.
Shoppers wearing face masks and gloves shop at the Palladium Shopping Center, in northern Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Iran has had 77 deaths attributed to the coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization. It’s one of the worst outbreaks of the virus outside China.
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