U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 26 that he was putting Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the government’s response to Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Feb. 25 said American communities should start preparing for the spread of the disease. Dr. Nancy Messonnier said that recent data increased expectations of transmission in the United States and that “disruption to everyday life might be severe.”
Separately, White House economic director Larry Kudlow told CNBC that the potential for a domestic outbreak has been “contained.” He also said long-term investors should consider buying stocks given the recent drop in markets. There are 15 confirmed U.S. cases of Covid-19, along with 45 Americans evacuated from a cruise ship in Japan and from Wuhan, China.