Vice President Pence, who’s running point on the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus crisis, said “there’s no question” the US will see more cases of the disease that is rapidly spreading worldwide.
“There will be more cases. There’s no question,” Pence told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” in an interview that aired Sunday.
He said that is based on the “confidence of all of our health experts who are widely regarded as the best in the world.”
A man in Washington state died of the virus on Saturday and the US has 71 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Protection said.
Pence said the “vast majority” of Americans contract coronavirus will “be treated, they will recover.”
But NBC News’ Chuck Todd said it isn’t “reassuring” that one out of 22 people worldwide who have the disease will die.
There are roughly 87,000 coronavirus cases worldwide.
Pence said health experts told him the country would be in a “different place” if President Trump has not decided to suspend all travel from China into the US and quarantine people returning from China.
Trump in a tweet on Sunday said the administration would expand on the screening measures announced a day before.
“Coronavirus: In addition to screening travelers “prior to boarding” from certain designated high risk countries, or areas within those countries, they will also be screened when they arrive in America. Thank you!,” he posted.
Pence, at a press conference on Saturday at the White House, said the administration was putting travel restrictions in place on Iran, Italy and South Korea, where mass outbreaks were reported.
The vice president said Trump wants a “whole government” response to the crisis.
“We’re going to bring the best scientific minds, experts together, and we’re going to, we’re going to work every day to, to contain this disease, to treat those that are contracted,” Pence said on NBC. ” And I’m very confident we’re ready, and I know, and I know that we’ll get through this.”
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