Coronavirus: Trump issues travel warning for coronavirus epicentre New York

Donald Trump has backed away from calling for a quarantine of coronavirus hotspots in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, instead directing that a "strong Travel Advisory" be issued to stem the spread of the outbreak.

Vice-president Mike Pence tweeted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was urging residents of the three states "to refrain from non-essential travel for the next 14 days."

The announcement came as the US death toll topped 2,100, more than double the level from two days ago. The United States has now recorded more than 122,000 cases of the respiratory virus, the most of any country in the world.

Mr Trump had said on Saturday afternoon that he might impose a ban on travel in and out of New York and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut, the US epicentre of the disease, to protect other states that have yet to bear the brunt.

“We’d like to see New York quarantined because it’s a hotspot,” the president said outside of the White House. “New York, New Jersey, maybe one or two other places, certain parts of Connecticut quarantined.”

He added: “I’m thinking about that right now. We might not have to do it but there’s a possibility that sometime today we’ll do a quarantine — short term two weeks for New York, probably New Jersey and parts of Connecticut.”

The president spoke as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was conducting a press briefing about the latest updates surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

Asked about the president’s comments, the governor said “I don’t even know what that means”.

“I don’t know how that could be legally enforceable,” he said. “From a medical point of view, I don’t know what that would be accomplishing.”

The governor also said he had not spoken to the president about a possible quarantine, despite having talked to Mr Trump over the phone just before beginning the press conference.

On Saturday, Mr Trump described the possible order for New York as an “enforceable quarantine” and added: “Hopefully we won’t need it.”

He later tweeted on Saturday night: "A quarantine will not be necessary."

New York state’s residents have already been ordered to self-isolate after the governor mandated 100 per cent of the workforce to remain at home due to the outbreak of the novel virus.

Mr Trump had said the potential quarantine orders would likely remain in effect for a short period, possibly two weeks, and would limit residents’ abilities to travel to other parts of the country.

The president later confirmed that he was “giving consideration” to the idea in a tweet, and added that he was considering the orders for “hot spots” like New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in New York has soared past 46,000.

"This doesn't attack the strong among us. It attacks the weak among us, the people we're supposed to protect," Mr Cuomo said on Friday. "These are our parents, our aunts and uncles, a relative who is sick. Every instinct says protect them, they need us. But those are the exact people this enemy attacks."