Trump recalls recent visit to India, claims 'Namaste' easier than shaking hands

Amid the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus and its declaration as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, POTUS Donald Trump addressed the media about the measures being taken to avoid the spread of the virus. Recalling his recent trip to the Indian subcontinent, Trump said the 'namaste' greeting was easier than to shake hands and risk any possible health hazards. He also called India and Japan 'ahead of the curve' in their precautions for the deadly virus.

"You know I just got back from India and I didn't shake any hands there. And it was very easy cuz they go like this...and Japan goes like this..They're ahead of the curve.", said  President of the United States Donald Trump.

The novel Coronavirus is the biggest global health concern currently as the pandemic continues to spread across the world. The outbreak started in Wuhan, China and soon spread globally, including the US. 

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As of March 11, 2020, there has been a total of 938 cases of Coronavirus in the US. There have been a total of 29 deaths in the US. The number includes both confirmed and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 reported to CDC or tested at CDC since January 21, 2020. However, the number excludes testing results for persons repatriated to the United States from China and Japan.

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State and local public health departments are now testing and publicly reporting their cases. In the event of a discrepancy between CDC cases and cases reported by state and local public health officials, data reported by states should be considered the most up to date.

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"Coronavirus outbreak is a controllable pandemic"

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday, while talking to diplomats in Geneva, said that the coronavirus outbreak is a controllable pandemic. According to a statement released by the World Health Organisation, Tedros outlined two main reasons as to why the decision was taken to describe the epidemic as a pandemic. Tedros said that one reason was the speed and scale of transmission and the others was because "countries are not approaching this threat with the level of political commitment needed to control it".

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