Coronavirus outbreak is coming to U.S. and it ‘could be bad, CDC says [Video]

For weeks, health officials have been tamping down fears of the coronavirus, saying over and over that the risk to Americans was low.

But federal health officials are now saying it’s only a matter of time before the virus takes a foothold in the country.

A top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans on Tuesday to start preparing in an uncharacteristically urgent message from an agency not known for histrionics.

“We are asking the American public to work with us to prepare for the expectation that this could be bad,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters during a conference call.

“Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in this country,” Messonnier added. “It’s not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will …