This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

Donald Trump signaled on Monday afternoon that he is considering additional travel restrictions into America to try to contain the spread of coronavirus, as six deaths were reported in Washington state and the number of confirmed cases in the US surpassed 100.

Health officials in Washington state in the US north-west reported on Monday that the state has seen six deaths from coronavirus, as new cases were reported across the US.

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An outbreak at a nursing home near Seattle was linked to four of the six deaths in the state. The fifth person to die was a man in his 50s and the sixth was a man in his 40s.

Trump reiterated at the White House that he is weighing new restrictions on travel from other countries into the US, though without giving specific details.

The president was meeting with members of his administration’s coronavirus task force, as well as pharmaceutical company chiefs, and said he did not think there needed to be a declaration of a national emergency in the US but that he “could always do that at a later date”.

Meanwhile it was announced that global financial ministers and central bankers will hold a conference call on Tuesday to coordinate the financial and economic response to the coronavirus, CNBC reported.

Steve Mnuchin, the US treasury secretary, and Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, will lead the call, to be held at 7am US eastern time, with representatives of the industrialized G7 nations participating as they reportedly try to coordinate a financial and economic response to the virus.

Mike Pence, who is heading up the US government’s efforts to tackle the virus, said that a group of US pharmaceutical companies will create a consortium to work together on dealing with the virus – as medical experts search for treatments and a vaccine.

“Sadly, today there were four additional fatalities, raising the number…that six Americans have lost their life to the coronavirus,” the vice-president said at a White House briefing.

Trump has imposed travel restrictions into the US from China and tightened already tough restrictions on Iran, and on Monday said he was eyeing further travel limits “from certain countries where they’re having more of a breakout”. But he wouldn’t name specific countries.

In the Pacific north-west, Washington state’s coronavirus testing lab is testing hundreds of people a day, officials said, and it hopes to increase that rate to thousands soon.

Seattle is located in King county, and its executive, Dow Constantine, said he has ordered the purchase of a motel in the area to be used to isolate patients in treatment and in recovery. The county also plans to put “modular units” on public properties around the county.

At least 48 schools in the state are closed for cleaning amid attempts to stop the spread of the illness.

Testing has increased substantially in the US in recent days after the Centers for Disease Control, the federal health protection agency, expanded guidelines about who should be tested and also modified a flaw in its testing kits.

Both state and federal officials are tallying patients and the number of confirmed cases in the US totaled more than 100 by Monday afternoon, including people tested in the US and those repatriated after being confirmed with coronavirus while overseas.

Officials in San Antonio, Texas, announced on Monday afternoon that the city was suing the CDC and the US government, naming among the defendants the attorney general, Bill Barr, the defense secretary, Mark Esper, and the health secretary, Alex Azar, after a woman there was released from quarantine following two negative tests but then tested positive for coronavirus.

“This person visited a local mall, ate at its food court and spent a few hours among other persons, potentially exposing the public to the virus,” the lawsuit says, later alleging she was released “based on lack of communication”.

New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, said there was “no doubt” more cases would be identified as the city aims to test 1,000 people a day starting in the next week.

New York’s first case was identified in a woman in her 30s who caught the virus during a trip to Iran and is now in home quarantine.

Florida has also declared a public health emergency as it confirmed its first two cases.

Globally there have been more than 87,000 cases and nearly 3,000 deaths in 60 countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The coronavirus, which emerged in China late last year, sent global markets falling last week, as it quickly moves around the world.

Trump administration officials had worked on Sunday to calm fears that a global recession is looming, arguing that the public and media were overreacting and saying the US economy was fundamentally strong.

Delta Air Lines and American Airlines have suspended flights to Milan in northern Italy, where most of that country’s coronavirus cases have been reported.

The US has 75,000 test kits for coronavirus and will expand that number “radically” in coming weeks, Alex Azar, the health secretary, told ABC.

Mike Pence said the government had contracted 3M Co to produce an extra 35m respiratory masks a month. The vice-president urged Americans not to buy the masks, which he said were only needed by healthcare workers.

He also told Fox News clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine would start in six weeks but a vaccine would likely not be available this season.

Democrats, who will challenge Trump for the presidency in November, have criticized his administration for downplaying the crisis and not preparing for the disease to spread in the US.

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Pence said Americans should brace for more cases but that the “vast majority” of those who contracted the disease would recover. Legislation to authorize special spending on tackling coronavirus is expected to be introduced in the US Congress this week.

On Monday, Trump accused Democrats of “fearmongering” over the outbreak.