Coronavirus Doesn’t Worry Trump, Who Says ‘Heat’ Will Banish It By April
There are over 40,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in China and over 900 people have died from the epidemic in that country alone, but President Donald Trump on Monday said Americans should not worry because China has told him things will be better by April.
Trump cited “the heat” as the cause for his optimism.
Steve Herman, White House bureau chief for Voice of America News (VOA), quoted the president speaking to a group of governors visiting the White House Monday morning.
“The heat generally speaking kills this kind of virus,” @POTUS explains to governors, suggesting #China has given him confidence that the #coronavirus outbreak will subside by April.
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) February 10, 2020
Trump made a similarly false claim on Friday.
….he will be successful, especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone. Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 7, 2020
Infectious disease experts disagree.
“It would be reckless to assume that things will quiet down in spring and summer,” Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas told CNN. “We don’t really understand the basis of seasonality, and of course we know we absolutely nothing about this particular virus.”
Referring to the coronavirus, Trump says he was told by China's President Xi, "By April, during the month of April, the heat generally kills this kind of virus, so that would be a good thing." pic.twitter.com/AbYyX4qRzZ
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) February 10, 2020
