Tom Bossert, formerly the president's homeland security adviser, wrote a much-discussed column in The Washington Post warning the U.S. had 10 days before all of its hospitals could be overrun.
Moreover, Bossert — a rare Trump administration figure whom the White House press corps liked — recommended schools nationwide be shut down for eight weeks.
But, at least for now, the White House is not saying whether it accepts Bossert's warning on hospitals or whether it has plans to close schools.
"I will tell you that we're working very closely with California, Washington, New York, Florida to develop community-specific recommendations for those areas where we have had what is known as community spread," Vice President Mike Pence told reporters at the Tuesday White House briefing on coronavirus.
Community spread is the passing of the virus from person to person in the community and not through a travel-related experience.
Pence then turned the briefing over to Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who told reporters, "for the country right now to say we're going to close all the schools in the country, I don't think would be appropriate."
"With school closures, the appropriate — depending upon not whether you have already — the horse is out of the barn — but when you start to see, 'We're getting a little bit danger here, so let's do it.'"
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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