'Shutdown, quarantine, curfew, whatever': Republican senator warns the time has come for 'extraordinary measures' to fight coronavirus

• Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas announced in a statement that "the time has come for extraordinary measures to combat the ... coronavirus" and said it was time to take "extreme" measures.
• Cotton advised that all government agencies aside from those which provide essential services should "shut down."
• "Call it what you want - a shutdown, quarantine, curfew, whatever. But only absolutely essential work should continue: groceries, pharmacies, supply transport, health care, electricity, water, sanitation, etc," Cotton added. "Everyone else should stay home."
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A Republican senator on Monday sounded the alarm in the starkest of terms as US health officials warned Americans on the dangers of the coronavirus.

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas announced in a statement that "the time has come for extraordinary measures to combat the ... coronavirus" and said it was time to take "extreme" measures.

"Stop all but essential activity," Cotton said. "Call it what you want - a shutdown, quarantine, curfew, whatever. But only absolutely essential work should continue: groceries, pharmacies, supply transport, health care, electricity, water, sanitation, etc. Everyone else should stay home."

Cotton advised that all government agencies aside from those which provide essential services should "shut down."

"What seems extreme today will seem obvious tomorrow," Cotton said, adding that "these extraordinary measures will impose many hardships, but if we take them now, we can shorten the risk to Americans' health and the economic hardships."

Cotton warned that the US may suffer "Italy's fate" if it did not take serious action to limit the cornavirus's spread. Italy health official estimated that around 27,980 people were infected and 2,100 people died, the most fatalities outside of China.

"Two weeks ago, Italians were merrily sipping wine and coffee at bars and restaurants," Cotton added in his statement. "Today, elderly Italians are denied care at hospitals and instead administered last rites because their health-care system is collapsing."

Twenty-two people in Cotton's state tested positive as of Monday. Fourteen others were under investigation.

President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon recommended that Americans avoid gatherings of 10 or more people. Public schools and other state and local institutions were closed as the coronavirus cases in the US continued to mount.

"We'd much rather be ahead of the curve than behind it," Trump said to reporters at the White House. "Each and every one of us has a critical role to play in stopping the spread and transmission of the virus."

Over 3,800 coronavirus cases were reported in the US as of Monday afternoon. Seventy people have died in the country.