Politics

Trump outlines US response to coronavirus, puts Pence in charge of effort

President Trump on Wednesday declared that the coronavirus posed “a very low” risk to the American public — and that he had chosen Vice President Mike Pence to spearhead the government’s effort to contain it.

“We have the greatest experts in the world right here,” Trump said in a White House press conference alongside experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We’re ready to adapt and do whatever we have to as the disease spreads — if it spreads.”

As the deadly virus has infected more than 81,000 people globally, killing nearly 3,000, mainly in China, Trump touted actions his administration took early on — like denying entry to non-citizens who’ve recently been to China.

“Because of all we’ve done, the risk to the American people remains very low,” he said, adding that his decisions were “ridiculed” at the beginning.

Trump noted that travelers coming in from coronavirus-stricken areas are being screened, and those infected or at risk of infection are being quarantined.

Health officials on Wednesday said three new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the US, bringing the total number of cases to 60 — the vast majority of them being people evacuated from an infected cruise ship in Japan.

Experts are also working to develop a vaccine, Trump said — and Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health told reporters it could be ready for trials in a matter of months.

Trump alluded to the $2.5 billion his administration has requested Congress green-light to help fight the virus, and acknowledged that both Republicans and Democrats wanted to spend more.

“We’ll spend whatever is appropriate,” Trump said. “Hopefully we won’t have to spend so much because we really think that we’ve done a great job in keeping it down to a minimum.”

Pence, who will be working with top federal health officials and the coronavirus task force to oversee the response, praised the administrations’ efforts to date.

“President Trump’s made clear from the very early days of his administration we have no higher priority than the safety, security, health and well-being of the American people,” Pence said.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, the head of the coronavirus task force, outlined its goals.

President Donald J. Trump, Vice president Mike Pence and Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar arrive as President Trump speaks to the media in the James S. Brady Briefing room with members of the Coronavirus Task Force.
President Donald J. Trump, Vice president Mike Pence and Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar arrive as President Trump speaks to the media in the James S. Brady Briefing room with members of the Coronavirus Task Force.EPA

“First, expanding our surveillance network, second, support for state and local governments’ work, third and fourth, development of therapeutics and vaccines, and fifth, manufacturing and purchase of personal protective equipment like gowns and masks,” Azar said.

The briefing came a day after officials from the US Centers for Disease Control warned Americans to brace for a nationwide outbreak.

“It’s not so much of a question of if this will happen in this country anymore but a question of when this will happen,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier had said, adding it was unclear how severe the epidemic would be.

But at his briefing on Wednesday, Trump told reporters: “I don’t think it’s inevitable.”

Trump also noted that influenza is far deadlier than the coronavirus has been so far.

“I was really amazed and I think most people are amazed to hear it, the flu in our country kills from 25,000 people to 69,000 people a year. That was shocking to me,” Trump said.

For the first time on Wednesday, more new cases were reported outside of China than inside, since the outbreak began in China late last year, the UN’s World Health Organization said.

China reported 412 new cases, while there were 459 confirmed diagnoses in 37 other countries including the first confirmed case in Latin America in Brazil.

Stock markets globally have wiped out $3.3 trillion of value in the past four trading sessions, while in the US, the Dow dropped nearly 2,000 points Monday and Tuesday — and was down 123 points Wednesday.

Trump blamed the Democratic presidential candidates for causing undue alarm and spooking the markets.

“I think the financial markets are very upset when they look at the Democrat candidates standing on that stage making fools of themselves and they say, ‘if we ever have a president like this . . .,’” the president said.

In a debate Tuesday night, the Democratic hopefuls had attacked Trump’s response to the virus.

“There’s nobody here to figure out what the hell we should be doing,” Mike Bloomberg claimed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, also waved off Trump’s assertion that the US had the virus under control on Wednesday.

“I don’t think the president knows what he’s talking about, once again,” she told reporters.

Additional reporting by Ebony Bowden and Steven Nelson with Post wires