President Trump addresses coronavirus concerns, names Vice President Pence to head response

I have just received another briefing from a great group of talented people on the virus that is going around, too. Various parts of the world we have through some very good early decisions, decisions that were actually ridiculed at the beginning. We closed up our borders to flights coming in from certain areas, areas that were hit by the Corona virus and hit pretty hard, and we did it very early. A lot of people thought we shouldn't have done it that early and we did and who turned out to be a very good thing. And the number one priority, from our standpoint, is the health and safety of the American people. And that's the way I viewed it when I made that decision because of all we've done, the risk to the American people remains very low. We have the greatest experts in the war, really in the world, right here, the people that are called upon by other countries when things like this happen. But we're very, very ready for this for anything, whether it's going to be a breakout of larger proportions or whether or not where, uh, you know, we're at that very low level on. We want to keep it that way. So we're at the low level as they get better, we take them off the list so that we're going to be pretty soon that only five people and we could be a just one or two people over the next short period of time, So we've had very good luck.

President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that the U.S. is “very, very ready” for whatever the coronavirus threat brings, and he put his vice president in charge of overseeing the nation's response.Trump sought to minimize fears of the virus spreading widely across the U.S. But he said he was ready to spend “whatever's appropriate,” even if that meant the extra billions of dollars that Democrats have said is necessary to beef up the U.S. response. Trump had told Congress earlier this week that the government needed to spend $2.5 billion to fight the virus.“We're very, very ready for this, for anything,” even if it's “a breakout of larger proportions,” Trump told a news conference.Trump and members of the administration have been sending mixed messages about the virus.Trump sought to minimize fears of the virus spreading widely across the U.S., saying, “I don't think it's inevitable.”But standing next to him at a White House news conference were health authorities who reiterated that Americans need to get ready for what could become a wider outbreak requiring such steps as school closures.“Our aggressive containment strategy here in the United States has been working and is responsible for the low levels of cases we have so far. However, we do expect more cases,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The CDC on Tuesday warned the American public to prepare for an outbreak of the disease, which has spawned more than 80,000 cases around the world but relatively few so far in the U.S.Before he flew home from India on Tuesday, Trump said the coronavirus situation is “very well under control in our country.” Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike have questioned whether the White House's $2.5 billion request is sufficient.New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, on Wednesday unveiled an $8.5 billion request to respond to the virus outbreak, more than triple Trump's request. Schumer is asking for $4.5 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services to work to contain the outbreak in the U.S., $1 billion to develop and manufacture a vaccine, $1 billion to help other countries battle the coronavirus and $2 billion to reimburse states for costs incurred in tackling the outbreak.“We will put together a supplemental that will address this issue," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Calif. Aides said the House measure is likely to be unveiled next week.DeLauro dismissed the White House’s $2.5 billion request, saying the two-page summary appeared to have been put together without much thought. She contrasted it to a 28-page submission from the Obama administration on Ebola.Azar responded “I appreciate your frustration with the two-page letter being the documentation,” but he said he believes $2.5 billion will be enough for now. “If it doesn’t fund it, we’ll come back to you.”Schumer has been harshly critical of Trump's response to the outbreak, but his request — announced before the Democratic-controlled House Appropriations Committee has weighed in — rankled some Democrats hoping for quick, bipartisan action to address the crisis.Arriving back in the U.S. early Wednesday, Trump immediately began to push back against critics who say he should have acted sooner to bolster the federal response to the coronavirus.Trump also criticized some news media coverage of the coronavirus, accusing news outlets of “panicking markets.”The president keeps close tabs on the stock market, seeing it as an indicator that his economic policies are working and frequently charting its growth on Twitter. Markets tumbled Monday by more than 1,000 points and again on Tuesday, and Trump noticed.In India, he said China, where the outbreak began, was getting the epidemic under control.“They’re getting it more and more under control so I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away," he said in India, while noting that, “We lost almost 1,000 points” Monday on the stock market.White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham also engaged in the pushback after returning with Trump. Grisham retweeted a CDC post that said “there is currently no reported community spread” of coronavirus in the U.S.In the tweet, the CDC advised people to take the usual precautions to avoid spreading the virus, such as staying home when sick and washing hands with soap and water.This week, the National Institutes of Health received a shipment of test doses of a vaccine candidate from Moderna Inc., in preparation for first-step safety testing in a few dozen people aimed to begin by April. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIH’s infectious disease chief, cautioned reporters that in a best-case scenario, "you’re talking about a year to a year and a half” before any vaccine would be ready for widespread use.Fauci said that while only a few cases have turned up in the U.S. from travelers outside the country, “We need to be able to think about how we will respond to a pandemic outbreak.”“It's very clear. If we have a global pandemic, no country is going to be without impact,” Fauci said.A pandemic involves the continual spread of sustained transmission from person to person in multiple regions and hemispheres throughout the world simultaneously, Fauci noted.Fauci called it “quite conceivable” that the virus will “come back and recycle next year. In that case, we hope to have a vaccine.”

Trump sought to minimize fears of the virus spreading widely across the U.S. But he said he was ready to spend “whatever's appropriate,” even if that meant the extra billions of dollars that Democrats have said is necessary to beef up the U.S. response. Trump had told Congress earlier this week that the government needed to spend $2.5 billion to fight the virus.

“We're very, very ready for this, for anything,” even if it's “a breakout of larger proportions,” Trump told a news conference.

Trump and members of the administration have been sending mixed messages about the virus.

Trump sought to minimize fears of the virus spreading widely across the U.S., saying, “I don't think it's inevitable.”

But standing next to him at a White House news conference were health authorities who reiterated that Americans need to get ready for what could become a wider outbreak requiring such steps as school closures.

“Our aggressive containment strategy here in the United States has been working and is responsible for the low levels of cases we have so far. However, we do expect more cases,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC on Tuesday warned the American public to prepare for an outbreak of the disease, which has spawned more than 80,000 cases around the world but relatively few so far in the U.S.

Before he flew home from India on Tuesday, Trump said the coronavirus situation is “very well under control in our country.”

Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike have questioned whether the White House's $2.5 billion request is sufficient.

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, on Wednesday unveiled an $8.5 billion request to respond to the virus outbreak, more than triple Trump's request. Schumer is asking for $4.5 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services to work to contain the outbreak in the U.S., $1 billion to develop and manufacture a vaccine, $1 billion to help other countries battle the coronavirus and $2 billion to reimburse states for costs incurred in tackling the outbreak.

“We will put together a supplemental that will address this issue," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Calif. Aides said the House measure is likely to be unveiled next week.

DeLauro dismissed the White House’s $2.5 billion request, saying the two-page summary appeared to have been put together without much thought. She contrasted it to a 28-page submission from the Obama administration on Ebola.

Azar responded “I appreciate your frustration with the two-page letter being the documentation,” but he said he believes $2.5 billion will be enough for now. “If it doesn’t fund it, we’ll come back to you.”

Schumer has been harshly critical of Trump's response to the outbreak, but his request — announced before the Democratic-controlled House Appropriations Committee has weighed in — rankled some Democrats hoping for quick, bipartisan action to address the crisis.

Arriving back in the U.S. early Wednesday, Trump immediately began to push back against critics who say he should have acted sooner to bolster the federal response to the coronavirus.

Trump also criticized some news media coverage of the coronavirus, accusing news outlets of “panicking markets.”

The president keeps close tabs on the stock market, seeing it as an indicator that his economic policies are working and frequently charting its growth on Twitter. Markets tumbled Monday by more than 1,000 points and again on Tuesday, and Trump noticed.

In India, he said China, where the outbreak began, was getting the epidemic under control.

“They’re getting it more and more under control so I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away," he said in India, while noting that, “We lost almost 1,000 points” Monday on the stock market.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham also engaged in the pushback after returning with Trump. Grisham retweeted a CDC post that said “there is currently no reported community spread” of coronavirus in the U.S.

In the tweet, the CDC advised people to take the usual precautions to avoid spreading the virus, such as staying home when sick and washing hands with soap and water.

This week, the National Institutes of Health received a shipment of test doses of a vaccine candidate from Moderna Inc., in preparation for first-step safety testing in a few dozen people aimed to begin by April. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIH’s infectious disease chief, cautioned reporters that in a best-case scenario, "you’re talking about a year to a year and a half” before any vaccine would be ready for widespread use.

Fauci said that while only a few cases have turned up in the U.S. from travelers outside the country, “We need to be able to think about how we will respond to a pandemic outbreak.”

“It's very clear. If we have a global pandemic, no country is going to be without impact,” Fauci said.

A pandemic involves the continual spread of sustained transmission from person to person in multiple regions and hemispheres throughout the world simultaneously, Fauci noted.

Fauci called it “quite conceivable” that the virus will “come back and recycle next year. In that case, we hope to have a vaccine.”

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