Sen. Tom Cotton urged Americans in China to flee as a mysterious illness continues to spread across the country.
The Arkansas Republican sent out the message on Thursday after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global public health emergency. The virus broke out in the city of Wuhan, China, in January, though experts are still unsure of its source.
“MESSAGE TO ALL AMERICANS IN CHINA: Get out—now. Contact our embassy or consulates if you need help,” Cotton said.
MESSAGE TO ALL AMERICANS IN CHINA: Get out—now. Contact our embassy or consulates if you need help. https://t.co/AG23B5vCTj
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) January 30, 2020
Nearly 8,000 cases of the disease have been reported globally. Roughly 7,700 of those potential cases are in China. The first person-to-person transmission of the disease was reported in the United States on Thursday after the husband of a patient was infected.
Cotton has called for the U.S. to place a travel ban on China and said the outbreak of the disease is likely much worse than the Chinese government is reporting. The communist state reported that 38 more people had died from the disease on Thursday, the single largest 24-hour jump. The total number of fatalities sits at 170, all from inside China.
