President Donald Trump again urged Americans to be calm about the spread of the coronavirus, after meeting with Senate Republicans Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
“It hit the world and we’re prepared and we’re doing a great job with it and it will go away, just stay calm,” Trump said, adding, “Everybody has to be vigilant and has to be careful but be calm, it’s really working out, and a lot of good things are going to happen.”
Trump’s remarks appeared upbeat, despite a growing tone of concern from government officials about containing the virus.
The president cited “fairly good numbers” from countries like China that already have suffered from the spread of the virus but seem to see their number of cases diminishing.
Trump also said he did not feel it necessary to test himself for the virus, as long as he has no symptoms.
“I don’t think it’s a big deal, I would do it, I don’t feel any reason, I feel extremely good, I feel very good,” he said. “I guess it’s not a big deal to get tested, and it’s something I would do.”
Trump said he spoke to the White House doctor, who told him that as long as he had no symptoms, there was no reason to do it.
“There’s no symptoms, no anything,” he said.
The president said he had been briefed on the different contingency plans and again compared the number of deaths from the virus to the number of deaths from the flu.
“We’re taking this unbelievably seriously, and I think we’re doing a really good job,” he said.
Trump also insisted coronavirus testing was doing well.
“The testing has gone very well, and when people get a test, they can get a test,” Trump said.
The president met with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill Tuesday to discuss stimulus plans to help with the economic slump sparked by the virus. He again promised to help the cruise line and airline industries affected by the crisis.
“It was a great meeting, there is great unity in the Republican party,” Trump said, adding that the party was “mostly all there” on a payroll tax cut.