Don’t sweat it, most will live: Trump

President Trump downplayed worries about coronavirus spreading to the U.S., saying the vast majority of those infected from the virus won’t die.

Defending the decision to bring infected Americans back to the U.S. to be quarantined, Trump said the fast-spreading virus is nowhere near as deadly as Ebola.

“There is a very good chance you are not going to die,” Trump said. “You are talking about 1 or 2%, but in the [Ebola] case it was a virtual 100%.”

Trump said his decision to bring the infected Americans home was correct even though he harshly criticized the same policy during the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

Some 57 people in the U.S. have been infected with the virus. That includes more than 30 who were repatriated from overseas and are under treatment for the virus on military bases.

“We did the right thing,” said Trump, adding that most are out of danger. “These were wonderful people. It wasn’t their fault.”

The effort to downplay the potential impact of the virus came as it continued to spread unpredictably, and American health officials said it was a question of “when, not if” the U.S. will face outbreaks on American soil.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle said health officials appear woefully unprepared to cope with an outbreak of the virus, which is difficult to contain because it can spread before symptoms appear.

“President Trump and his administration have no plan to deal with the coronavirus,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.

The White House sent Congress a $2.5 billion spending request to battle coronavirus. But lawmakers said they want to see a much bigger plan and much more of a sense of urgency.