WASHINGTON, March 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he currently does not consider a nationwide lockdown to keep all Americans at home.

"I don't think so," Trump said when asked during a press briefing at the White House. "Essentially you've done that in California. You've done that in New York. Those are two hotbeds."

"You go out to the Midwest, you go out to other locations, and they're watching it on television, but they don't have the same problems," he added.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States has topped 18,563 as of 18:30 Eastern Standard Time Friday, with 227 deaths, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.