U.S. PRESIDENT Donald Trump named Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday to coordinate the government’s response to the coronavirus, even as he repeatedly played down the danger to the United States of a widespread domestic outbreak. The president’s announcement at a White House news conference followed mounting bipartisan criticism that the administration’s response had been sluggish and came after two days of contradictory messages about the virus, which has infected more than 81,000 people globally, killing nearly 3,000. The announcement also came on a day when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a person with no known risk factors had been infected in northern California. “The risk to the American people remains very low,” said Trump, flanked by top health officials from several government agencies. “We have the greatest experts, really in the world, right here.” The president said he would accept whatever amount of money congressional Democrats wanted to give for the virus response, adding, “We’re ready to adapt and we’re ready to do whatever we have to as the disease spreads, if it spreads.” “We’ll spend whatever is appropriate,” he said. Several top health care experts at the news conference echoed Trump’s optimism but also offered a more sober assessment of the future risks. Dr. Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the CDC, warned Americans that there would be more infections. “Our aggressive containment strategy here in the United States has been working and is responsible for the low levels of cases that we have so far. However, we do expect more cases,” she said as the president stood behind her. “The trajectory of what we’re looking at over the weeks and months ahead is very uncertain. (SD-Agencies) |