The Trump administration is not considering whether to appoint a coordinator to lead the United States' response efforts to the novel coronavirus, White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2020) The Trump administration is not considering whether to appoint a coordinator to lead the United States' response efforts to the novel coronavirus, White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement on Wednesday.
Earlier on Wednesday, US media reported that the White House was considering appointing a "coronavirus czar" to lead the response to the outbreak in the United States.
"This is not true," Deere said via Twitter. "The President took decisive action by creating the Coronavirus Task Force a month ago and is pleased with the leadership of [Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar] to protect the public health."
Trump said in earlier remarks that Azar and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are doing well addressing the novel coronavirus outbreak in the United States.
On Tuesday, CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat said the novel coronavirus outbreak is likely to become a global pandemic.
The number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in the United States had risen to 53, an increase from 14 earlier this month. The virus has so far infected more than 80,000 people around the world, and killed at least 2,700, mostly in China.
On Monday, the Trump administration asked Congress for an additional $2.5 billion for developing a coronavirus vaccine and preparing for a widespread outbreak.
