‘I don’t think so’: Trump skeptical of national coronavirus lockdown

US President Donald Trump says he doesn’t believe a total national lockdown of the US over the coronavirus pandemic will ‘ever’ be necessary, after California and New York told everyone to hole up at home.

A national lockdown would not make sense in places like the Midwest, where there have been far fewer cases of Covid-19 so far, and where the bulk of food and industrial production is concentrated. 

“I don’t think so,” Trump said during a Friday press conference, when asked about nationwide lockdown. "I don't think we'll ever have to do that."

Washington has temporarily closed the US borders with Canada and Mexico. Two of the three states with the highest number of cases, California and New York, have already severely limited the movement of their residents in a bid to further slow down the spread of the contagion.

National lockdowns have so far been implemented in Italy and Spain, two European countries with high infection rates, as well as France.

The White House has repeatedly denied rumors circulating on social media over the past week that a nationwide lockdown is imminent, dismissing them as fake news intended to spread panic. 

As of Friday morning, a total of 14,322 Covid-19 cases have been registered in the US, with 210 deaths – primarily in Washington state, New York and California. 

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