US health authorities said Monday they are investigating 110 possible cases of the novel coronavirus across 26 states, but reported no new cases have been positively identified as the Trump administration urged Americans to reconsider all travel to China.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that total includes the five patients who have been tested possible for the disease, and 32 patients who have so far tested negative. Results for the remaining 73 patients remain pending, the agency said on its website.
“IT’S A SERIOUS HEALTH THREAT”
The five confirmed cases include two patients in California, and one each in Washington state, Illinois, and Arizona. All of the patients had recently returned from China.
“While this is a serious public health threat, CDC continues to believe the immediate risk to the US general public is low at this time,” the CDC said in confirming the most recent cases in California and Arizona on Sunday.
Fears of the virus spreading further sent markets tumbling, with the Dow opening more than 500 points down before taking back some losses. The Dow was down over 330 points in late-day trading with the S&P down 1.3% and the Nasdaq taking a hit of nearly 1.5%.
“Very few cases reported in USA, but strongly on watch. We have offered China and President Xi any help that is necessary. Our experts are extraordinary!” he said.
The State Department later Monday urged Americans to reconsider travel to the whole of China, raising its travel warning to level three due to the coronavirus. It further warned US nationals not to travel at all to Hubei province, the disease’s epicenter, which the department classified level four.