Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Trump's "Chinese Virus" Tweet Increases Tensions with Beijing


Tue 17 Mar 2020 | 09:52 AM
NaDa Mustafa

U.S. President Donald Trump has described the global coronavirus outbreak as “the Chinese virus,” increasing the diplomatic tensions between Washington and Beijing over the disease.

"The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus," Trump tweeted, adding, " We will be stronger than ever before."

[embed]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1239685852093169664?s=20[/embed]

Earlier, the World Health Organization  (WHO) advised the international community against terms that link the virus to China or the city of Wuhan, where it was first detected, in order to avoid discrimination or stigmatization.

President Trump's administration laid out several new recommendations for dealing with the coronavirus, asking families to keep their children home from school if they can and urging people not to congregate in groups larger than 10 people, according to NPR website.

The new guidelines also urge people nationwide to avoid eating and drinking in restaurants and bars and to cut out discretionary travel.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus a global pandemic as the new virus has rapidly spread to more than 121,000 people from Asia to the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.

More cases of the virus, which causes respiratory disease Covid-19, continue to emerge, with outbreaks in South Korea, Italy, and Iran.

Transmission of viruses between humans happens when someone comes into contact with an infected person’s secretions, such as droplets in a cough. They can also be transmitted by coming into contact with something an infected person has touched and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes.