Vice President Mike Pence discusses the spread of coronavirus and the actions being taken by the Trump administration to contain the illness.
Vice President Mike Pence, head of the White House coronavirus task force, spoke with FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo about the danger posed to the American public.
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“Thanks to the decisive leadership of President Trump in January where he suspended all travel from China and established a quarantining effort for Americans returning, we believe that we are in a much better place today than we would have been otherwise,” Pence said. “That being said … there will be more cases.”
US RAMPING UP CORONAVIRUS TESTING, MASK PRODUCTION: PENCE
A new virus first detected in China has infected more than 89,000 people globally and caused over 3,000 deaths. The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it.
President Trump said suspending travel “saved many lives.”
“I was criticized by the Democrats when I closed the Country down to China many weeks ahead of what almost everyone recommended,” he tweeted Monday. “Dems were working the Impeachment Hoax. They didn’t have a clue! Now they are fear mongering. Be calm & vigilant!
Pence also talked U.S. travel advisories regarding countries like Italy and South Korea. South Korea reports 4,335 cases and 26 deaths, while Italy reports 1,694 cases and 34 deaths.
A couple wearing face masks, stroll outside St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Thursday. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
“What we want those countries to do is for all their citizens coming to the United States, we want them to have a health screening process in place. We’ll be assisting them to establish that,” Pence said. “It’s those particular areas … where we see a rising number of cases, not country-wide. The president thought it was proper to issue a travel advisory just for those areas.”
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In a portion of the interview aired Sunday, Pence said that the U.S. is ramping up production of face masks and distributing coronavirus testing kits across the country.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
