Coronavirus is not posing a threat to everyday Americans at this time, but President Donald Trump is ensuring that the nation is preparing proactively, and here is no risk to the United States at this time, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who is heading up the White House task force on the outbreak, said Thursday.
"We are being completely transparent about our actions here," Azar told Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "While this is a potentially serious public health threat, it does not at this time pose a risk to the American public."
The World Health Organization is meeting to determine if the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency, but that will not change the actions that are being taken in the United States, he added.
However, the government also is being transparent about what's not known yet about the virus, including full information about its severity profile or how it is contagious, said Azar, so he is "delighted" that the Chinese government has invited U.S. experts to participate with the WHO while being deployed to assist China's experts on the ground to study the virus and help prevent its further spread.
"With regard to the Centers for Disease Control, we have a huge global health security agenda and what we've actually done is focus into the highest risk areas, including China," said Azar.
He added that there are additional Americans in the Hubei province in China, the epicenter of the outbreak, and the HHS will work with the State Department to make sure they can come home if they want and all measures will be taken to make sure their transportation is handled safely.
Meanwhile, Anthony Fauci, the head of the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" that there has been no secondary spread from the five cases of coronavirus confirmed in the United States.
The risk to Americans is "really low," said Fauci, and people should not be afraid at all of getting on a plane and going to the Super Bowl," he said. "Remember, there are five travel-related cases. This is a different story. If you were telling me would I like to go to China or Wuhan or whatever I would say be careful about that. If you want to fly to the Super Bowl, have fun. It's not a risk."
The risk of complications from influenza are far more serious, but coronavirus is far different, said Fauci, as there are still several unknowns.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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