The CDC on Tuesday said a resident of Snohomish County, Washington, who was returning from China, was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
The CDC and Homeland Security began screening people travelling to major airports in California and New York from Wuhan – the province where the virus outbreak is believed to have started. Health officials have also confirmed cases in Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
“We have it totally under control,” Trump told “Squawk Box” co-host Joe Kernen in an interview from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “It’s one person coming in from China. We have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”
Trump added that he believes that Chinese President Xi Jinping and health officials there are going to continue to tell authorities around the world everything they need to know about the virus.
“I do. I do. I have a great relationship with President Xi,” said Trump, addressing a question about whether he’s concerned about transparency in China. “The relationship is very good.”
The coronavirus, whose symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, which can progress to pneumonia, evoked memories of the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in China. SARS killed nearly 800 people worldwide and led to an economic downturn in the region, hitting Asian cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei and Beijing.