Donald Trump was comparing the Coronavirus to the seasonal flu while epidemiologists were cautioning against that style of rhetoric.
"So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!" - Donald Trump tweet from March 9th.
"This is 10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu." - Dr. Anthony Fauci, when asked by a House of Representatives committee on March 11th to gauge the danger