Pompeo, Italian Counterpart Discuss Coronavirus Threat - State Department

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd March, 2020) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a telephone call with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio discussed the global challenge of dealing with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement on Monday.

"Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke today with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio," Ortagus said in the statement. "The Secretary expressed his support for Italy in the face of the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country."

Pompeo and Di Maio affirmed strong cooperation between both countries in countering global challenges, Ortagus said.

The United States currently has five reported deaths due to the coronavirus outbreak, all in the state of Washington. Moreover, the state of New York has confirmed its first case of the coronavirus. Overall, there are 91 coronavirus cases in the United States.

The COVID-19 death toll in Italy - which is the largest coronavirus epicenter outside Asia - has reached 52, while the total number of those infected has surged to 2,036. The first novel coronavirus case has been confirmed in the Italian capital of Rome.

The WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier on Monday that it was too early to declare a global coronavirus pandemic, since 130 countries had not reported a single case so far.