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The U.S. added more than 8,500 new reports to its total of more than 63,000 active cases Wednesday, a pace that now outstrips the spread in European hotspots like Italy and Spain. The hardest hit region is New York, which comprises nearly half the American total and which added more than 4,400 cases on Wednesday alone, mostly in New York City.

Even so, “there are large sections of our country probably that can go back to work sooner than other sections,” Trump told the daily White House briefing.

“I’m not going to do anything rash, or hastily — I don’t do that,” he added. “It could be we’ll do sections of our country. There are big sections of our country that are very little affected by what’s taken place.”

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If indeed parts of the country are able to go back to work, people would still be able to defend against the virus by practising social distancing, hand-washing and “all the things you’re supposed to do,” Trump said.

“They’re not going to walk around hugging and kissing each other in the office when they come back, even though they may feel like it.”

Freeland pointed to the new mandatory quarantine when asked about Canada’s contingency plans in the event the U.S. outbreak risks spilling over the border. But she made a point of noting that essential travellers — truckers, cross-border health workers, airline crews and others keeping trade and commercial arteries open — are considered essential for a reason.

“We need to be really thoughtful about what we do there,” Freeland said, citing the specific example of long-haul truck drivers who are ferrying critical goods and supplies between the two countries.