The coronavirus has infected more than 33,000 people in the United States and killed more than 400, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The report comes as President Donald Trump announced that the federal government had activated the National Guard to assist New York, California and Washington, three of the states hit hardest by the virus.
The president also reassured Americans that everything would be OK and that it would all be over soon.
“It’s gonna be a victory that, in my opinion, will happen much sooner than originally expected,” Trump said Sunday during a 90-minute news conference where he rattled off the number of supplies the federal government had sent to New York, California and Washington.
Three members of Congress have contracted the virus and several others are self-quarantining at home.
Trump also expressed optimism that a drug used to treat malaria could be a cure for the coronavirus.
“Why should we be testing it in a test tube for a year and a half when we have thousands of people that are very sick?” Trump asked. “They’re very, very sick, and we can use it on those people and maybe make them better and in some cases maybe save their lives.”
“We think it might work on this, based on evidence, based on very strong evidence. We’re gonna see. We’re gonna know sometime after Tuesday,” he added. “I don’t wanna get anybody over-excited, but I’m very excited by that, by the prospect of it.”
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.