Coronavirus: Concerns over Iran, Italy restrictions and hotel lockdown - BBC News
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'It's not if, but when' coronavirus will hit the US - CDC
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US's top public health agency, has warned Americans to brace themselves for a spread of coronavirus within the country.
"It's not so much a question of if this will happen in this country any more but a question of when this will happen," Dr Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunisation and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), said.
"We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad."
It's a change of tone for the CDC, which, until now, has largely been focused on efforts to stop the virus entering the country and on quarantining people who have travelled from China.
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HHS Secretary Alex Azar asked for $2.5 billion to be invested in fighting the outbreakImage caption: HHS Secretary Alex Azar asked for $2.5 billion to be invested in fighting the outbreak
Meanwhile Alex Azar, the US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, has asked a Senate subcommittee to approve $2.5 billion (£1.92 billion) in funding to fight the outbreak.
The money, he said, would pay for the US to expand its surveillance systems for the virus, would support local and state governments, and would help scientists develop vaccines.
Mr Azar also said the US needed to expand its stockpiles of protective equipment, like surgical masks. He said that right now the US has a stockpile of about 30 million masks, but it actually needs 300 million.
We need levity on this tragic thread.
