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p100, United States President Trump held a White House press conference Wednesday with members of his coronavirus task force to address concerns surrounding the spread of the virus in America and around the world. Trump said Vice President Mike Pence is leading the U.S. response to the outbreak, and that a vaccine is being developed rapidly and coming along very well. President Trump, with members of his coronavirus task force, speaks during a news conference Wednesday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
p100 - However, Anthony Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said later at the press conference that a vaccine would not be applicable to the epidemic for a year to a year and a half, due to delays from testing, development, production and distribution. There have been 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S. in total, a figure that includes three individuals repatriated from evacuation flights, and 42 others from the Diamond Princess ship that Japanese officials quarantined earlier this month.
p100, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia on Thursday said it will block foreigners from traveling to Mecca and the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure at the center of the annual hajj pilgrimage, out of concern over the spread of the coronavirus. The travel limits also apply to the Prophet Muhammad’s mosque in Medina. Muslim pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, during the hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. (AP) In addition, Saudi officials have halted entry to the kingdom by those with tourist visas from countries affected by coronavirus.
p100 - There have been no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in Saudi Arabia amid the outbreak. Iran The hardest-hit nation in the Mideast is Iran, where 254 cases and 26 deaths from the virus have been reported. However, experts believe the Iranians may be underreporting those numbers. Iranian Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar, better known as the English-language spokeswoman “Mary” for the 1979 hostage-takers who seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and sparked the 444-day diplomatic crisis, is among the hundreds who have the virus, state media reported.
p100 - Iranian Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar has tested positive for the coronavirus, state media said. (AP) In an effort to eliminate another source of germs, Iran removed overhead handles on Tehran’s subways and loosened rules barring the import of many foreign-made items to allow in sanitizers, face masks and other necessities. Japan Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday called for all elementary, middle and high schools to close until spring holidays begin in late March – a decision that affects 12.8 million students at 34,847 schools nationwide.