US, Israel cancel joint military exercise 'Eagle Genesis' amid coronavirus fear

The United States and Israel have cancelled joint military exercise ‘Eagle Genesis’ in the wake of novel coronavirus which has claimed more than 3,000 lives globally. The US Central Command reportedly said that the decision was taken out of caution in the face of the evolving situation with the deadly COVID-19.

Last week, the Department of Defence cancelled a key joint military training exercise in South Korea after the Asian nation reported hundreds of coronavirus cases. Pentagon also decided to send medical and lab personnel, doctors and nurses to support its troops stationed in South Korea.

The White House has set up a task force to contain the coronavirus and the team is being led by Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar. The US Congress has also voted for $8.3 billion emergency funding package to contain the deadly virus.

'Best prepared'

Amid the steady rise in death toll due to coronavirus in the United States, President Donald Trump said that they have the most talented people in the world working together to address the epidemic. Speaking at the annual legislative summit of the Latino Coalition, Trump said that the extraordinary success over the last three years has ensured that the United States is best prepared in the world to address any threat or challenge.

“Nowhere is more true than our vigilant and unprecedented effort to right now to protect American for coronavirus,” said Trump.

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According to the latest report, 31 new deaths in China due to coronavirus infections have been confirmed, taking the total death toll because of the deadly virus to over 3,000. While most of the cases are from Hubei province of China and the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, several other countries, including the United States, Iran, Italy, and Japan, have also reported deaths related to COVID-19.

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Meanwhile, the United Nations has released $15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help fund global efforts to contain the novel coronavirus COVID-19. UN Humanitarian Chief Mark Lowcock announced the release of the fund after the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised the alert to its top level of risk assessment - ‘very high’.

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