‘Thank You President Xi’: Donald Trump Praises China's Efforts For Tackling Coronavirus

US President Donald Trump thanked China on Friday for its “efforts and transparency” in tackling the coronavirus. The death toll in China's alarmingly new coronavirus afflictions has climbed to 41, while the number of infected cases has soared to nearly 1,300. The disease has spread to 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

Taking to Twitter, President Trump tweeted, “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus, hours after the United States confirmed its second case of the SARS-like virus that has reached half a dozen countries.

“The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency,” he added. “It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”

US confirms second case

A woman in Chicago in her sixties was on Friday confirmed as the second patient on US soil infected with a deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds in China.

"I'm pleased to report she is clinically doing well and is in stable condition," said Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health was quoted as saying by AFP.

The cases currently being monitored in the US stretch across 22 different states, including the first patient in Washington state and the new case in Illinois, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters on a conference call hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday.

China to build new hospital

China is rushing to build a new hospital in a staggering 10 days to treat patients at the epicentre of a deadly virus outbreak that has stricken hundreds of people, state media reported Friday. The facility in the central city of Wuhan is expected to be in use by February 3 to serve a rising number of patients infected by a coronavirus that has left at least 26 people dead and millions on lockdown in an effort to curb the spread. Dozens of excavators and trucks were filmed working on the site by state broadcaster CCTV.

It will have a capacity of 1,000 beds spread over 25,000 square metres, the official Xinhua news agency said.

What is Coronavirus?

The coronavirus has caused alarm because of its similarity to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003. Like SARS, it can be passed among people through the respiratory tract. Animals are suspected to be the primary source of the outbreak, with Chinese health officials saying the virus originated from the market where wild animals were illegally sold. Studies published this week suggest that the virus may have originated in bats or snakes.

The first case of the new virus was confirmed on December 31, and it has since been detected in Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.

The 17 people who died in China were aged from 48 to 89, and had pre-existing health conditions, Chinese health authorities said Thursday. Chinese authorities on Thursday reported dozens of new infections, bringing the confirmed total to 571. About 5,000 people remain under medical observation. But scientists at the Imperial College in London estimate that 4,000 people have been infected in Wuhan.