The Trump administration is telling Americans the coronavirus outbreak is under control within U.S. borders.
"We are in very close communication with China concerning the virus," President Donald Trump said Jan. 27 on Twitter. He added, "Very few cases reported in USA, but strongly on watch. We have offered China and President Xi any help that is necessary. Our experts are extraordinary!" Last Friday, he assured his Twitter followers, "It will all work out well."
There are 4,473 confirmed cases of the virus, with five confirmed in the U.S. One hundred and seven people have died, all in China. Find more updates on the respiratory infection here.
Despite some critiques of the administration's handling of the threat — for one, former Vice President Joe Biden called the president's remarks "blithe" in USA Today — HHS Secretary Alex Azar said, "People should know the president is engaged and this department is leading the efforts to ensure that it doesn't [spread]," he said on Fox News' "Brian Kilmeade Show."
Mr. Azar told guest host Mary Walter that HHS has "ramped up the protection of America" at President Trump's direction.
"We now have our quarantine officials … at three key airports that receive flights from China with individuals coming from Wuhan," he said. "Passengers are being screened for any type of fever or respiratory illness and quarantined until we can rule out this novel coronavirus. The CDC has already invented a diagnostic for this, and we are deploying it around the country so it can be used rapidly on site."
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