Trump accuses news channels of spreading panic across country over coronavirus

US President Donald Trump has accused two cable TV news channels of making the virus look much worse than it actually is and as a result upsetting financial markets. Trump made the accusation in a tweet that he uploaded on February 26. The US President's accusation come just after public health officials had warned the United States to prepare for a likely outbreak.

'USA in great shape'

On February 25, the officials at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  reportedly said that the global spread of the coronavirus across different nations had them worried about the virus eventually spreading in the United States. They did not specify about when the outbreak may occur and how severe it would be.

Reports have stated that global markets have experienced a series of lows in recent days due to the panic and anxiety caused by the continued spread of the coronavirus in several nations. Reports also indicated that US stocks were lower than usual on February 26 as a fresh wave of fears of the coronavirus spreading in the United  States grips the stock market.

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As per reports, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on February 26 refuted the assertions made by Donald Trump in a press conference that the virus outbreak was under control. She said that she did not think that the US President knew what he was talking about. Reports have quoted US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told US lawmakers that the United States would most likely not implement regional lockdowns as has been a practice in China and other countries where the virus outbreak is quite severe.

Reports have analysed the amount of funding that has been allocated to battling past viral outbreaks and assume that the level of funding that can possibly be allocated to contain coronavirus in the United States is between the $4 billion to $7 billion range.

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