Trump says U.S. in “very good shape” to handle coronavirus
Speaking to reporters during a
visit to India on Tuesday, President Donald Trump
voiced confidence that US health care officials were ready and able to control the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
He called the COVID –
outbreak that began in China “pretty bad,” noting it’s severe impact on stock markets Monday, but said “we think we’re in very good shape in the United States. ” 
“I think it’s going to be under control,” Mr. Trump said, lamenting the huge drop in stock values Monday, but saying it was out of his or anyone else’s control.
He said the US had been “fortunate so far,” with just confirmed cases, most of them from a single cruise ship that docked weeks ago in Japan. “We think it’s going to remain that way,” said Mr. Trump.
The president again lauded China’s handling of the outbreak and said it looked as though the Chinese were, “getting it more and more under control, and so I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away. “
Updated m ago
Stock prices sink in Europe and Asia, but not like Monday’s sell-off
Shares opened lower in Europe on Tuesday after a mixed session in Asia, where Tokyo’s Nikkei 413 index skidded more than 3% as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged fresh efforts to contain the outbreak of a new virus that has spread from China to nearly three dozen countries.
Nerves appeared to have steadied after sell-offs Monday that gave Wall Street its worst day in two years, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling more than 1, 12 points.
But a growing number of companies are forecasting their profits will suffer from disruptions caused by efforts to contain the virus. New clusters of the disease were rattling markets as they emerge, unleashing waves of volatility.
Germany’s DAX lost 0.3% to , . and the CAC in Paris lost 0.5% to 7, . . In Britain, the FTSE lost 0.4% to 7, .
Key aviation hub UAE bans Iran flights as virus spreads there
The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday banned all flights to and from Iran over the outbreak of the new coronavirus, just a day after its spread from the Islamic Republic was announced across multiple Mideast nations. Iran meanwhile raised the official death toll from the virus to 22 killed amid 113 confirmed infections.
The UAE, home to long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad, remains a key international transit route for Iran’s million people. The flight ban, which will last at least a week, shows the growing concern over the spread of the virus in Iran amid worries the outbreak may be larger than what authorities there now acknowledge.
“All passenger and cargo aircraft traveling to and from Iran will be suspended for a period of one week, and could be up for extension,” the Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority said. “The decision is a precautionary measure undertaken by the UAE to ensure strict monitoring and prevention of the spread of the new coronavirus.”
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Updated 5: 19 AM
Democrats blast White House virus spending plan
Democrats were quick to slam an urgent $ 2.5 billion plan the White House sent lawmakers Monday to address the deadly coronavirus outbreak. Democrats said the request fell far short of what’s needed.
In a statement Monday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the president’s request “long overdue and completely inadequate to the scale of this emergency.” She said the House would advance “a strong, strategic funding package that fully addresses the scale and seriousness of this public health crisis.”
House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, DN.Y., called the plan “woefully insufficient.”
We have a crisis of coronavirus and President Trump has no plan, no urgency, no understanding of the facts or how to coordinate a response, “Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
To help fund the plan, the administration wants to transfer $ million from an Ebola preparedness account that’s been a top priority of Democrats. House Democrats said that request was dead on arrival.
California city alarmed over possible transfer of virus patients
A federal judge on Monday ordered U.S. and California officials to answer questions from local officials about plans to relocate former cruise ship passengers who test positive for a new coronavirus to a facility in Southern California.
US District Judge Josephine Staton, who had already temporarily blocked federal officials from transferring passengers to the site, said mistakes can be made when acting in haste. She set another hearing to review the issue next Monday.
The contentious hearing lasted more than two hours and was so crowded some People had to sit on the courtroom floor.
Officials from Costa Mesa, an Orange County city of 255, 12, are trying to halt the transfer to their community of patients who were evacuated from a cruise ship in Japan and are under quarantine at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California. Those who tested positive for the virus were sent to area hospitals but can’t be returned to Travis once they no longer need treatment, federal officials said.
City officials questioned why a facility that was recently deemed too dilapidated for a homeless shelter is suddenly being considered for this purpose. Local officials said they weren’t included in the planning process and want to know what safeguards are in place to prevent the possible transmission of the virus that has caused more than 2, deaths, most of them in China.
) – The Associated Press
Updated 4: 69 AM
“Mission: Impossible 7” temporarily halts production in Italy
Production on “Mission: Impossible 7,” which is being filmed in Venice, Italy, has been temporarily halted due to the recent coronavirus outbreak.
“Out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew, and efforts of the local Venetian government to halt public gatherings in response to the threat of coronavirus, we are altering the production plan for our three week shoot in Venice, the scheduled first leg of an extensive production for “Mission: Impossible 7,” a spokesperson for Paramount Pictures told CBS News.
Italy has the largest number of coronavirus cases of any country outside of Asia.
Paramount Pictures and CBS News are both owned by ViacomCBS
CDC upgrades travel notice for South Korea to “Avoid nonessential travel”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upgraded its travel notice for South Korea on Monday to “Avoid nonessential travel,” warning of “a widespread, ongoing outbreak of respiratory illness.”
The coronavirus has spread rapidly in South Korea in recent days. There have been more than 851 confirmed cases of the disease in the country, according to the World Health Organization.
Updated 4: AM
White House proposes $ 2.5 billion plan to help fight coronavirus epidemic
The Trump administration has proposed a $ 2.5 billion plan to help fight the coronavirus outbreak, according to a statement from the Office of Management and Budget.
“The Trump Administration continues to take the spread of the COVID –
Coronavirus Disease very seriously, “said spokesperson Rachel Semmel. “Today, the Administration is transmitting to Congress a $ 2.5 billion supplemental funding plan to accelerate vaccine development, support preparedness and response activities and to procure much needed equipment and supplies.”
The plan includes a request for $ 1. billion in emergency funding, as well as for an additional $ million currently earmarked for Ebola prevention and treatment.
An administration official told CBS News that the plan includes more than $ 1 billion for vaccines, and that the money will be requested in a lump sum to give the Department of Health and Human Services the maximum amount of flexibility. The official added that while the resources are intended for 4412, the language will allow for spending to continue through 4412.
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