U.S. President Donald Trump was repeatedly warned about the dangers of the novel coronavirus in intelligence briefings in January and February, according to The Washington Post on late Monday. 

The warnings – more than a dozen included in classified briefings known as the President's Daily Brief (PDB) – came during a time the president was mostly downplaying the threat of a COVID-19 pandemic.

The Post, citing unnamed current and former U.S. officials, said the pandemic was mentioned very frequently by mid-to late January, “either as one of the report’s core articles or in what is known as an executive update.”

The PDBs are also shared as different versions with Cabinet secretaries and other high-ranking U.S. officials.

For weeks, the daily briefs traced the spread of the virus and mentioned the frightful political and economic consequences, according to the Post.

The president, who officials told the Post often does not read the briefings and bristles at having to listen to oral summaries, failed to mobilize for a major pandemic.

In the following months, the virus moved swiftly across the United Stated until states began imposing lockdown restrictions, requiring social distancing; all but closing huge sectors of the country’s economy.

The administration’s major steps to contain the spread of the virus began in January when Trump announced travel restrictions between the United States and China in late January.

On March 10, Trump said: “Just stay calm. It will go away.”

The next day, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic.

As cases surged in New York and the stock market plummeted, the president declared a national emergency on March 13 and announced a travel ban from Europe. 

As of late Monday, the United States has recorded an overall coronavirus death toll of 56,144, with 988,197 confirmed infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

(With input from AFP)