Trump now says he may visit CDC after official tested negative

President Donald Trump shows off a bipartisan $8 billion funding bill he signed at the White House to combat the coronavirus outbreak March 6, 2020 in Washington, DC. Earlier today the World Health Organization urged governments around the world to unleash their full power to combat the spread of the virus. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) less President Donald Trump shows off a bipartisan $8 billion funding bill he signed at the White House to combat the coronavirus outbreak March 6, 2020 in Washington, DC. Earlier today the World Health Organization ... more Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close Trump now says he may visit CDC after official tested negative 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

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The White House scrapped President Donald Trump's visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta Friday, saying the president didn't want to "interfere with the CDC's mission to protect the health and welfare of their people and the agency."

But during the signing of a bill to spend $8.3 billion to fight the virus at the White House, the president contradicted that message. He said the trip to the CDC had been canceled over concern about a possible infection there, but that the person tested negative.

"We may go," Trump said. "They thought there was a problem at CDC, somebody that had the virus."

COVID-19 so far has killed more than a dozen people in the U.S., most of them in Washington state.

Trump had planned to sign the coronavirus response funding bill at the CDC. Instead he signed it at the White House before his departure to travel to view tornado damage in Tennessee.

“We have very low numbers compared to major countries throughout the world. Our numbers are lower than just about anybody," Trump said about cases of the virus, which have rocked financial markets, interrupted travel and threatens to affect everyday life in the United States.

"It's an unforeseen problem," Trump said about the virus. “It came out of nowhere. We're taking care of it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.

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