UNITED STATES−President Donald Trump addressed the county on Wednesday, March 11, calling for unity in the wake of the Coronavirus, and noted that the spread of the virus is now a National Emergency.

President Trump placed a 30-day travel ban on flights coming into the U.S. from Europe beginning starting Friday, March 13 in an effort to mitigate and contain the spread of the virus.

“This is the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in modern-day history. I am confident by counting and continuing to take these measures we will significantly reduce the threat to our citizens and will ultimately and expeditiously defeat the virus,” said President Trump.

“We made a lifesaving move with early action on China. Now we must take the same action with Europe. We are all in this together. We must put politics aside, stop the partisanship, and unify together as one nation and one family.”

The President’s announcement came hours after the World Health Organization’s classification of the COVID-19 as a pandemic. President Trump reiterated Proclamation 9984, which was made on January 31, 2020, regarding the suspension of entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants of persons who pose a risk of transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus and other appropriate measures to address this risk.

President Trump held a press conference on March 12, taking questions on travel restrictions.

More information on the COVID-19 can be found on the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website or the World Health Organization (WHO) website.

In briefings on the White House website, President Trump noted his commitment to protecting American business workers from the impacts of the coronavirus through economic assistance, loans through the Small Business Association (SBA), deferred tax payments for certain businesses negatively impacted, and financial relief. The governments is offering food provisions for students relying on free lunch programs, in the midst of school closures across the country.

The CDC reports that weekly influenza surveillance data between October 1, 2019, and February 1, 2020, 12,000 people died from influenza. In addition, the CDC reports an estimated 31 million Americans caught the flu this season with anywhere from 210,000 to 370,000 being hospitalized as a result.

The CDC’s latest reports indicate there to be 1,215 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus or COVID-19 with 36 of those resulting in death.