President Donald Trump said Monday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had told him that the novel coronavirus that spread to the rest of the world from the city of Wuhan was likely to die off in the spring because of the heat.

"I had a long talk with President Xi—for the people in this room—two nights ago, and he feels very confident," Trump said. "He feels very confident, and he feels that...by April or during the month of April, the heat, generally speaking, kills this kind of virus. So that would be a good thing.

"But we're in great shape, in our country," the president continued. "We have 11 [confirmed cases of the coronavirus]. And the 11 are getting better."

"[Xi] is strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus," the president wrote. "He feels they are doing very well, even building hospitals in a matter of only days. Nothing is easy, but ... he will be successful, especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone."

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