Trump rules out quarantine on New York

Washington: US President Donald Trump said that he has asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue a new travel advisory for the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, scaling back from an earlier suggestion to quarantine those areas.

"On the recommendation of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and upon consultation with the Governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, I have asked the @CDCgov to issue a strong Travel Advisory, to be administered by the Governors, in consultation with the Federal Government," Xinhua news agency quoted Trump as saying in a tweet on Saturday night. "A quarantine will not be necessary," he added. "Full details will be released by CDC tonight."

2, 229 people have died in the United States. The number of deaths late Saturday was 2,010, about a quarter of them in New York City, the country's hardest-hit region, Johns Hopkins reported. Confirmed cases in the United States topped 121,000, according to the tally. The surge came as President Donald Trump said he was considering a quarantine on the greater New York area to slow the disease's move from the US epicentre.

New York has reported more than 52,000 cases, and 517 of the US deaths were in New York City. "There's a possibility that sometime today we'll do a quarantine -- short-term, two weeks -- on New York, probably New Jersey, certain parts of Connecticut," Trump said.