No plan to stop coronavirus has been taken off the table, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.
The coronavirus, also known as the COVID-19 virus, has claimed the life of one U.S. citizen, and the infection has been slowly spreading in a few west coast states. Azar noted on Sunday that the threat to the general population is low but acknowledged that he would leave any option on the table, including a travel ban within the United States.
“Right now, it’s important for people to understand, we’re not advising any types of particular measures in the United States like travel restrictions or closures,” Azar told Face the Nation. “State or local public health offices, which are the front lines of response, might make their own decisions to do that, but at this point, we do not have sufficient spread in the United States that would indicate those measures.”
He continued, “But we’re not taking any of them off the table.”
.@SecAzar tells @Margbrennan that precautionary measures like travel restrictions in the U.S. are not “off the table”: “At this point, we do not have sufficient spread in the United States that would indicate those measures.” pic.twitter.com/uV5KmYvVNM
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 1, 2020
President Trump announced on Saturday the implementation of a travel ban for anyone who had recently visited Iran, where the virus has infected several of the nation’s leaders. He also placed parts of South Korea and Italy, which are experiencing an outbreak, under a State Department travel advisory warning Americans against nonessential travel to those regions. A travel ban from China, where the outbreak began, was already in place.
In a separate interview on Fox News Sunday, Azar also said the Trump administration remains open to utilizing its war powers ability to force companies to produce medical equipment for the government if a shortage of face masks or hospital gowns were to become a problem.
“We can determine that our production should get to the front of the line, and so we go before any other contract that they might have,” Azar explained. “Right now, we are initiating the procurement processes for personal protective equipment. So that would be masks as well as gowns, gloves, etc.”
HHS Secretary Alex Azar says the government is prepared to invoke war powers to prompt U.S. companies to bump government orders to the top of the list. #FNS #FOXNews pic.twitter.com/4ssSg4FQt1
— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) March 1, 2020
Azar said he would prefer that companies volunteer to work with the federal government rather than using force to bump government contracts to the top of the line. He also explained that Congress must pass an emergency supplemental funding package before any equipment orders can be produced.
Vice President Mike Pence, who has been leading the White House’s efforts against the virus, explained that the average U.S. citizen does not need to go buy masks and noted that the current supply in the U.S. is stable.
