The White House said Tuesday that New York City was the most critical area affected by the coronavirus outbreak and that people leaving the area should self-quarantine.

“New York City is definitely a hot spot,” Trump said.

President Donald Trump, Vice President Pence, Dr. Deborah Birx, and Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared in the White House briefing room on Tuesday evening to discuss the fight against the spread of the coronavirus.

“It’s a very serious situation, Dr. Fauci said. “They’ve suffered terribly through no fault of their own.”

New York residents have been leaving for Florida, North Carolina, and Long Island to escape the disease, prompting officials to express concerns about spread.

Fauci said that although it was “understandable” that New Yorkers were leaving town, they should self-isolate for two weeks.

“We don’t want that to be another seeding point to the rest of the country, wherever they go,” he said.

Dr. Birx agreed.

“Everybody who was in New York should be self-quarantining for the next 14 days to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread to others,” she said.

White House

Birx called the statistics of infected people from the New York area “disturbing,” citing one per 1,000 infected.

“That’s about eight to ten times more than in other areas,” Brix said.

Pence said that the federal government would surge resources to New York City to help fight the virus in the biggest “hot spot” in the country.