Trump "Wuhan Pneumonia Controllable"... Stock Market Also Stabilizing

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Donald Trump assured that the Wuhan pneumonia, which first broke out in the United States, is under perfect control. Although the damage from Wuhan pneumonia is increasing in China, concerns in the U.S. have somewhat eased, and the financial market has stabilized.

On the 22nd (local time), President Trump said in an interview with CNBC in Davos, Switzerland, "The United States is already controlling the novel coronavirus, and concerns about a pandemic are groundless."

President Trump's remarks are interpreted as an effort to calm the worries of the American people. A day earlier, a man in his 30s living near Seattle was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus infection after returning from Wuhan, China, raising concerns about the possibility of transmission within the U.S.

Nevertheless, President Trump said, "Only one person has been infected. So far, it's okay," making a gesture to avoid stirring anxiety. Nancy Messonnier, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), also assessed that "the likelihood of Wuhan pneumonia spreading within the United States is low." The U.S. has raised the travel advisory for the Wuhan area to level 2 and strengthened quarantine measures at major international airports such as New York, LA, Chicago, San Francisco, and Atlanta.

However, the spread of Wuhan pneumonia has not stopped. It is understood that 17 people have already died in China alone. Confirmed cases have occurred in the U.S., and suspected cases have been found in Mexico.

The expert committee of the World Health Organization held an emergency meeting on the same day to decide whether to declare the novel coronavirus causing Wuhan pneumonia as an 'International Public Health Emergency,' drawing worldwide attention.

Meanwhile, concerns about Wuhan pneumonia, which had struck the U.S. stock market a day earlier, have somewhat subsided, leading to a rebound in the U.S. stock market. As of 12:15 p.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading at 29,204.85, up 8.81 points (0.03%) from the previous day. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices are also showing strength.