Mike Pence says 'there's been some irresponsible rhetoric' about coronavirus

Vice President Mike Pence said on Thursday that the Trump administration expects "there will be thousands more cases of coronavirus in this country", Business Insider reports.

Appearing on NBC's TODAY Show, Pence was also asked about Americans who don't believe the illness poses a serious threat to the US public.

"Obviously there's been some irresponsible rhetoric," Pence said. "But the American people should know that President Trump has no higher priority than the health and safety and well-being of the people of this country."

The World Health Organization officially classified the novel coronavirus as a pandemic on Wednesday. There are more than 127,000 confirmed cases across the globe and over 4,700 deaths.

In the US, as of Thursday morning, at least 1,282 people in 44 states and Washington, D.C., have tested positive for coronavirus, according to The New York Times, and at least 37 patients with the virus have died.