The administration is also issuing a do-not-travel advisory for areas in Italy and South Korea most affected by the virus. The only new ban so far is re Iran.
Pence: "The average American does not need to go out and buy a mask."
Yes, foreign nationals - Pence explained that Iranians themselves are already subject to the general Trump travel ban, so this imposes new restrictions re foreign visitors to Iran.
Health Secretary Azar says the risk to average Americans is low, then adds, "The risk remains low thanks to the unprecedented actions President Trump has taken and the actions he's announcing today."
Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says, "The country as a whole...still remains at low risk. But when we say that, we want to underscore that this is an evolving situation."
Fauci says don't be surprised that there will be additional cases announced, since this is a "community spread" situation and the US can't be immune.
Asked about his use of the word "hoax" last night, Trump said he was referring to how his opponents are trying to "pin this on somebody," not the virus itself. (For the record, that was my impression in context last night, though he certainly left it ambiguous.)
Trump says the "hoax" is what his opponents are doing to criticize him over the virus even though he's done such a great job, "certainly not referring to this -- how could anybody refer to this" as a hoax.
Fauci says he's never been muzzled and is not being muzzled by the Trump team. He said he had to "stand down on a couple of shows" as the administration figured out its communications, but he was cleared to talk when he re-submitted the appearances for approval.
Asked if he's considering closing the southern border, Trump says "we are looking also southern border." He says "we've received a lot of power on the southern border" from the courts during his presidency.
Asked if he's confident the virus won't be fatal for healthy people, Fauci says ultimately, people who get in real "trouble" are elderly and/or have underlying conditions like heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, obesity. He says, though, "once in a while" there's an exception.
Fauci says "the vast majority" of people very seriously affected by the virus are elderly or have conditions, but you'll also get some "one-off" situations where a normal 25-year-old is in bad shape. (He's speaking less rosily than Trump and his team.)
Trump: "They're making a lot of progress in China." He notes that Starbucks is open again.
CDC chief Redfield says the woman who died in Washington state has no known links to travel, seems to be a community spread case.
Asked why he's considering closing the Mexican border given that there are "so many more cases" in the US, Trump says we have a great relationship with Mexico and this is not a border that "seems to be much of a problem right now" re the virus.
Re the confusion over the identity of the Washington patient who died:
To recap, Trump didn't reject the premise that he's looking at restrictions on the Mexican border re the virus, but then, when challenged on it later in the press conference, he said that the Mexican border doesn't seem to be much of a problem right now.
Asked if he can do anything to calm the markets, Trump says, "The markets will all come back. The markets are very strong." He says they just have to deal with the virus, the one problem; "safety, health, #1, and the markets will take care of themselves."
Trump said in late January that he'd unveil his middle class tax cut in the next 90 days. Today he says his tax cut will be unveiled "toward the end of the year."
Trump suggests again China wants to discuss nuclear arms control with the US and Russia. China has repeatedly said it has no interest. Trump's national security adviser said this month, “So far — and this is not surprising — the Chinese are not interested in arms control."
