Trump Says Six US Cases Of Coronavirus Are A apos;very Little Problem apos;

President Donald Trump dismissed US cases of coronavirus as a 'very little problem' on Thursday in an effort to reassure the American public despite the World Health Organization's declaration that the outbreak is a global health emergency.   
The new coronavirus spreading from China has also spread from one infected person who visited China to another who had not been to the outbreak's epicenter. 
As a result of both developments, the US State Department has issued its strictest travel warning, advising Americans not to go to China, where more than 200 people have died an nearly 10,000 are sick with the new disease.
But Trump - a self-described 'germaphobe' - said that the six US cases are a 'very little problem,' while speaking at a Michigan manufacturing plant on Thursday.  
President Donald Trump said Thursday that coronavirus is a 'little problem' in the US, attempting to quell fears as the virus spread to a sixth American from his wife 
The new coronavirus has quickly spread around the globe, killing more than 200 people and sickening nearly 10,000 in more than 20 countries worldwide 
People line up to buy face masks from a medical supply company in Nanning in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Chinatopix via AP)
Trump generally has discussed the virus in broad terms, but he offered some of his most extensive comments on the issue to date during an appearance Thursday at a Michigan manufacturing plant.
'Hopefully, it won't be as bad as some people think it could be, but we're working very closely with [the Chinese government] and with a lot of other people and a lot of other countries,' he said.

'We think we have it very well under control.'
Trump described the handful of US cases as a 'very little problem' and said those people were 'recuperating successfully.'
'But we're working very closely with China and other countries and we think it's going to have a very good ending for us.
That I can assure you,' he said.
Trump also has discussed the situation with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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Aides and confidants say Trump's careful approach is part of a political strategy crafted to avoid upsetting the stock market or angering China by calling too much attention to the virus or blaming Beijing for not managing the situation better, according to a White House official and a Republican close to the White House. 
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private conversations.
Late Wednesday, tour du lịch nam ninh Trump tweeted photos from a White House Situation Room briefing on the virus, writing that 'we have the best experts anywhere in the world and they are on top of it 24/7!'
In keeping with the low-profile approach, the White House announced by email Wednesday night that the meeting included members of a task force that will lead the US response. 
The 12-person team is chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and coordinated through the National Security Council.
The president's comments contrast sharply with the fierce criticism he lobbed at his predecessor, President Barack Obama, during the 2014-15 Ebola crisis, which left more than 11,000 dead in three West African nations.
Several nations have closed their borders with China and the US State Department has warned Americans against any travel to China amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Many of those still traveling to and from the country wear masks, hoping to cut their infection risks 
Trump and health officials in the US and worldwide have praised efforts made in China to contain the virus's spread, such as spraying disinfectant (Chinatopix via AP)
At the time, Trump ripped into Obama as a 'dope' and tour du lịch nam ninh 'incompetent' and called for a travel ban on visitors from Ebola-infected countries. 
Trump also advocated preventing infected American health care workers from coming home for treatment.
Obama faced some criticism from public health officials for being slow to address the Ebola crisis initially, but also received plaudits for eventually attacking it with vigor.

He nudged Congress to make a $5.4 billion emergency appropriation to aid the fight and sent 3,000 US troops to West Africa to help with the international response.
Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University, said he's taken a measure of comfort in the fact that Trump, so far, hasn't overreacted and has resisted 'fanning the flames' as he did with his rhetoric during the Ebola crisis.

That leaves room, Gostin said, for public health professionals to take the lead.
'As long as that continues and as long as there isn't political interference or mass quarantines in the US or outright travel bans, I will feel comfortable with how the White House is handling it,' Gostin said. 
He added that he'd like to see Trump ask Congress for a $1 billion emergency appropriation to help agencies battling to contain the virus.
Trump is well aware the virus outbreak in China could create a wild card for the U.S.

economy during an election year. 
And he has long prioritized the US economic relationship with China, especially during trade negotiations, and similarly largely held his tongue during widespread protests in Hong Kong. 
He also takes enormous pride in the personal relationship he's developed with Xi and has commended him for demonstrating 'transparency' as he deals with the crisis.
Asked about the virus while traveling abroad last week, Trump said 'we have it totally under control.' In a separate Twitter posting, he offered reassurance but scant detail for his confidence.
'China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus,' Trump tweeted.

'The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well.'
But some public health experts say Trump's rosy assessments of the situation don't match the ground truth.
Gostin pointed to Chinese government bureaucratic delays that led to tens of thousands of people traveling outside of Wuhan province, increasing the likelihood that the virus will travel far beyond China.
'It´s not accurate at all,' Gostin said of Trump´s assessment of China´s handling of the outbreak.

'China manifestly does not have this under control.'
Trump's budgets have proposed cuts to public health, only to be overruled by Congress, where there's strong bipartisan support for agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Indeed, the money government disease detectives are tapping to fight the latest outbreak was a congressional idea.
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Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Lauran Neergaard and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.