WASHINGTON, D.C. — Trump administration officials stepped up efforts Friday to downplay dangers from the global coronavirus outbreak amid mounting public anxiety, another sharp drop in the stock market, and questions about the federal government’s response to the public health threat.
“The immediate risk to the American public remains low,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on a conference call with reporters.
On Tuesday, Messonnier, who directs the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, had warned that it was inevitable that more Americans would contract the virus, much to the chagrin of senior White House officials.
But Friday, she stressed that the CDC was aggressively tracing contacts of Americans sickened by the virus, including the California woman hospitalized at UC Davis Medical Center, who neither traveled overseas nor had any known contact with people who did.
Messonnier also promised that coronavirus testing kits are being distributed nationally after weeks of delay caused by flaws discovered in the existing tests.
“We have been testing aggressively,” she said.
The apparent lack of testing preparations has sharply limited how many Americans have been evaluated for coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, feeding worries that the disease may be far more widespread in this country than is currently known.
As of Thursday evening, only 459 coronavirus tests had been administered nationwide, according to the CDC. There have been 15 confirmed cases, not including people who returned to the U.S. via State Department-chartered flights.
The limited testing has fueled intense criticism of the administration from public health experts and lawmakers.
On Friday, U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., sent a letter to federal health authorities urging them to expand and expedite coronavirus testing, citing an apparent delay in how quickly the patient at UC Davis Medical Center was tested.
The virus has stricken more than 83,000 people around the world and led to about 3,000 deaths. Some 61 cases are confirmed in the United States, but none have died.
Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, sought to pin blame for the health crisis on the media.
“The reason you’re seeing so much attention to it today is that they think this is going to be what brings down the president,” he said at the Conservative Political Action Conference just outside of Washington. “That’s what this is all about.”
“What I might do today to calm the markets is tell the people to turn their televisions off for 24 hours,” he said.
Mulvaney tried to minimize the fatality rate — somewhere near 2% — as far less than other infectious diseases that have created scares.
“Is that serious? It absolutely is. There’s no question about it. But it’s not a death sentence. It’s not the same as the Ebola crisis,” he said.
“Are you going to see some schools shut down? Probably. May you see impacts on public transportation? Sure. But we do this. We know how to handle this,” he added.
Since Trump tapped Vice President Mike Pence to lead the response on Wednesday, his office has tried to take control of the administration’s public message, requiring federal officials to get permission from his office before granting interviews.
And on her call with reporters Friday, Messonnier pointedly noted that the administration’s tough border policies have prevented a more widespread coronavirus outbreak here.
Pence’s office denied accusations that the administration is trying to prevent experts from speaking honestly to the public.
“We’re definitely coordinating media, 100%, but are we censoring or editing statements? No” said Katie Miller, Pence’s press secretary.
She pointed out that Anthony S. Fauci, the respected director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke at a public task force meeting Thursday, gave a television interview Friday morning and briefed lawmakers behind closed doors Friday.
Pence has also tried to make an aggressive case that the administration has the situation under control, speaking Thursday night with Trump’s favorite cable TV host, Sean Hannity of Fox News.
“We’re ready for anything,” Pence promised, while insisting the risk of COVID-19 spreading in the United States “remains low.”
The White House continued to focus much of its public effort on trying to calm investors, who fear the virus could cause a global recession.
As stock markets nosedived again early Friday, Larry Kudlow, Trump’s chief economic adviser, came out of his office to speak with White House reporters.
“Given what we know factually, it looks to me like the market has gone too far,” he said.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down more than 800 points at mid-afternoon, continuing a weeklong selloff that is now the worst in more than a decade.
