By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

On Friday, Florida Senator Rick Scott called on the Trump Administration to declare the 2019 Novel coronavirus a national public health emergency.

Image/United States Senate

Scott said, “We have to get serious about the threat of coronavirus coming from China. I don’t trust Communist China to coordinate in a transparent and efficient manner when it comes to combatting the treat of the virus, so we have to do everything we can to protect Americans. Today, I’m calling on the Administration to declare a national public health emergency to stop the coronavirus from spreading within the United States. While all of the cases are still travel-related, we must take every precaution. Just like we did in Florida to curb the spread of the Ebola and Zika viruses, we must take action to make every resource available to contain the disease and keep Americans healthy.

“At the same time, we must examine the ways the virus is transmitted – including outside the body. Until we have a greater understanding of how the virus is transmitted, we must increase screening and inspections on all products and produce coming into the United States from China.”

Sen. Scott sent a letter to the CDC Director, Robert R. Redfield, MD Wednesday requesting information about the agency’s plan to combat the threat of the coronavirus and urging quick action to protect the health of American families.

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Scott is not the only US Senator to address the Novel coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China.

Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton had some strong words during a recent interview: “First off, our global public health authorities in the United States have to work to get this under control. But second, there needs to be serious consequences for Chinese malfeasance yet again,” Cotton stated.

“For weeks, China did not come clean about the coronavirus that they first said was only being passed from animals to humans in a seafood market in Wuhan in China,” he said. “But now we know…that it is increasingly being passed from person to person. We had our first confirmed U.S. case happen just in the last couple of days and it is spreading around the globe.”

While in Davos, Switzerland this week, President Trump said the United States has a plan in place to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

“We do have a plan and we think it is going to be handled very well. We’ve already handled it very well. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) is terrific. Very professional…”