PREPARING FOR THE WORST
Time to stock up: health minister
WE’RE READY, TRUMP SAYS, NAMES VP PENCE TO VIRUS RESPONSE
WASHINGTON • President Donald Trump assured Americans that they face little risk from the coronavirus outbreak and said Vice President Mike Pence will lead the government’s response, seeking to ease public concern after lawmakers raised alarm the U.S. is unprepared.
“Because of all we’ve done the risk to the American people remains very low,” Trump said Wednesday at a news conference at the White House.
Markets fell for a fifth day, continuing a slide as U.S. health officials warn of the virus’s likely spread in the U.S. Democrats and Republicans called for more funding than Trump requested to fight a potential outbreak.
Trump said “I don’t think it’s inevitable” that the virus spreads within the U.S., as a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official warned on Tuesday. “Whatever happens we’re totally prepared.”
Trump and Pence appeared with U.S. health officials to discuss the government’s coronavirus response. He said that of 15 Americans initially infected, eight have returned home and one remains hospitalized. Five have fully recovered, he said.
“We have quarantined those infected and those at risk,” he said. “We are rapidly developing a vaccine. The vaccine is coming along well.”
The best vaccine candidate may be ready for safety trials in about two months, said Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. But he said it would be at least several months to a year before it would be approved for clinical use.
“We can’t rely on a vaccine over the next several months to a year,” Fauci said, saying “public health measures” would be required to fight the virus until then. He said it is possible the coronavirus will circle the globe again next year after the current outbreak is brought under control.
Asked whether the government has envisioned measures such as imposing quarantines on entire cities, the president said that there are plans on “a much larger scale” but that “we don’t think we’re going to need it.”
Trump’s advisers believe that fear of dying from the virus is overblown, but that in the event of an outbreak the strain on the U.S. health care system could be severe, chiefly because of hospitalizations, according to people familiar with the matter.
They see coronavirus as a serious health threat that warrants a full government response yet assess the virus’s potential mortality rate in the U.S. as comparable to the flu.
While the seasonal flu kills tens of thousands of Americans annually, that’s because it infects millions of people. Its mortality rate is low, at about 0.1 per cent most years, according to the CDC.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar suggested Wednesday that the Trump administration may seek more money for its virus response than the $2.5 billion announced earlier this week after tough questioning from lawmakers of both parties. He told a House panel that the administration is planning to spend “at least” that amount and would work with Congress on a final figure.
Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the CDC, said that “the trajectory of what we’re looking at over the weeks and months ahead is very uncertain.” She recommended Americans adhere to basic precautions, such as covering their mouths when they cough and sneeze and often washing their hands.
“Tried and true, not very exciting measures but really important ways you can prevent the spread of respiratory viruses,” she said.
In Canada, Health Minister Patty Hajdu encouraged Canadians to stockpile food and medication in their homes in case they or a loved one should fall ill with the novel coronavirus, despite the relatively low risk of contracting the disease in Canada.
It’s good advice for any potential crisis from a viral outbreak to power outages, she said Wednesday.
“It’s good to be prepared because things can change quickly,” she said.
She also suggested people should do what they can to ease the burden on the health care system in the meantime by staying home if they’re sick, washing their hands and getting flu shots.
Canada’s deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo told the House of Commons health committee that it will take more than the health system to curb the spread of the virus.
“The time has come for all Canadians to think more about the need to prepare resources to manage a widespread community outbreak,” Njoo said.
Ontario health officials announced Wednesday they’d detected the 12th case in Canada so far. Each of the Canadian cases so far can be traced to a particular visit abroad.
Peter Marks, head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in an interview on Wednesday that “we are on the cusp of the pandemic.”
“Is it definitely going to happen? No, but there is significant concern. As of overnight we have cases on six continents,” he said.
The World Health Organization reported on Wednesday that the number of global infections exceeded 81,000, up 871 in a day, and that cases were reported in four more countries — Algeria, Austria, Croatia and Switzerland.