By Stephanie Armour and Andrew Restuccia
WASHINGTON -- President Trump said the risk to Americans from
coronavirus remains very low, and he put Vice President Mike Pence
in charge of federal response efforts as concern about the outbreak
grew among lawmakers and as cities nationwide made fresh
preparations.
On Capitol Hill, leaders from both parties said they would seek
billions of dollars in emergency spending beyond the $2.5 billion
plan President Trump has proposed.
"'We're very very ready for this, for anything, whether it is
going to be a breakout of larger proportions or whether or not
we're at that very low level," Mr. Trump said at a White House
briefing surrounded by administration health officials and the vice
president. "Because of all we've done, the risk to the American
people remains very low."
Officials have also discussed having the Food and Drug
Administration grant authorization to state and local health labs
to design their own coronavirus tests without going through the
current regulatory process, a source of frustration for
public-health officials, according to people familar with the
conversations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has
been working to roll its test kits out to other public-health labs,
but the process was stalled when some labs got inconclusive
results. About 445 people have been tested
The fast-moving developments came a day after a top CDC
official, Nancy Messonnier, warned businesses, schools and
communities to plan for potential outbreaks. Mr. Trump, who has
sought to project confidence that the number of cases in the U.S.
will be contained, was angered by the tone of the remarks,
according to two people familiar with the discussions.
U.S. stocks fell for the fifth consecutive session Wednesday as
investors continued to assess the economic impact of the
coronavirus epidemic. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar
said the U.S. should expect more coronavirus cases.
In the U.S., 15 locally diagnosed cases have been confirmed,
including a new one Wednesday, with an additional 42 from the
outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Asia and three
among Americans who returned from China aboard U.S.-chartered
flights. More than 2,700 people have died globally as a result of
the virus, which is believed to have originated in China and has
spread to Iran, Italy, South Korea and other countries.
U.S. cities have begun preparing for possible outbreaks. In San
Francisco, officials are working with hospitals and clinics to
identify rooms for isolating coronavirus patients and to screen
patients for travel history and symptoms. City officials also told
schools to start planning to manage potential closures.
"Although there are still zero confirmed cases in San Francisco
residents, the global picture is changing rapidly, and we need to
step up preparedness," said Mayor London Breed.
In Texas, Dr. Umair A. Shah, director of Harris County Public
Health, said a team of doctors, scientists and outreach personnel
have been meeting daily for nearly two months to coordinate
readiness in the Houston area.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said there are 1,200 public
hospital beds that can be made available to patients who need
isolation without affecting current health needs. New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo said he is seeking an emergency appropriation of $40
million for the state's Department of Health to use for equipment
and personnel.
"We're preparing, but this situation is not a situation that
should cause undue fear among people," Mr. Cuomo said.
The virus's spread is worrying some in the Trump administration,
who fear the consequences of a large-scale outbreak in the U.S.,
both in terms of public health and the president's prospects for
re-election if the response falters. Planning for the coronavirus
has been hampered by haphazard communications between states and
the federal government, according to people familiar with the
planning and some Democratic state leaders.
Some state leaders also say the lack of a coronavirus czar to
head operations has Trump administration agency heads and advisers
clashing over who is in charge.
A federal coronavirus task force has been meeting daily, and Mr.
Pence will take over coordinating within the federal government and
with state governments.
Some Republicans, including Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Mitt
Romney of Utah, have joined Democrats in calling for a czar to
supervise operations. Administration officials have privately
discussed appointing a czar to oversee the response, according to
two people familiar with the conversations.
The discussions also reflected discontent in some corners of the
administration about Mr. Azar, who has faced criticism for his
handling of the U.S. response to the virus and has butted heads
with some administration officials, according to people familiar
with the matter. Mr. Azar, a former drug company executive, worked
on disease outbreaks as an HHS official in the George W. Bush
administration.
"Secretary Azar has decades worth of experience at the helm of
HHS during many public health emergencies, including SARS, 9/11
response, Anthrax, pandemic flu preparedness, Monkeypox, Smallpox
preparation, Ebola, etc.," said Caitlin Oakley, an HHS
spokeswoman.
Mr. Trump, who returned Wednesday morning from a trip to India,
has accused Democrats and the media of exaggerating the threat.
Democrats have criticized the president for eliminating a global
health position on the National Security Council that Mr. Obama
established after the Ebola crisis. The administration's recently
released budget request to Congress proposes large cuts to key
agencies overseeing the coronavirus response, including a nearly
16% cut to the CDC and 10% at HHS.
On Capitol Hill, negotiations on funding a response to the
disease began, with staff from both chambers and parties meeting
Wednesday. The Trump administration's proposal to spend at least
$2.5 billion on combating coronavirus -- with $1.25 billion in new
funds and at least $1.25 billion in repurposed funds -- has
disappointed members of both parties.
"We will work on it, but it will be higher than what they've
got," Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R., Ala.)
said, referring to the Trump proposal. "We will make sure that
we've got the resources without any doubt."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) proposed his own
$8.5 billion emergency spending package on Wednesday. House
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) said he expected the
package to come in around $4 billion.
Mr. Trump said he would leave it to Congress to set the amount
and "we'll take it."
Mr. Azar earlier Wednesday stressed the low number of diagnosed
cases even though problems with coronavirus tests have delayed
further detection of the disease.
Mr. Azar said money from the administration's emergency funding
request would be used for a fund at the CDC to reimburse state and
local agencies.
Already, the administration has transferred about $140 million
from the Department of Health and Human Services toward fighting
the virus, including $60 million from the National Institutes of
Health and $40 million from a program that helps low-income
Americans with energy bills.
--Andrew Duehren, Jim Carlton and Brianna Abbott contributed to
this article.
Write to Stephanie Armour at stephanie.armour@wsj.com and Andrew
Restuccia at Andrew.Restuccia@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 26, 2020 19:33 ET (00:33 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.