Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight Committee squared off Wednesday over the Trump administration’s response to the outbreak.
Pete Marovich for The New York Times
The message was another sign of the alarm and urgency health officials have tried to convey at the same time that the White House and Mr. Trump have tried delivering reassurances of calm and containment. Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that the virus will “go away,” has compared it to the flu and referred to the number of confirmed infections as low.
Soon after the hearing recessed, the World Health Organization said the coronavirus now qualifies as a global pandemic, confirming what many epidemiologists have been saying for weeks. The hearing before an already polarized committee quickly devolved into a partisan fight over the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. Democrats ripped into top health officials and pleaded with them to be frank, even if Mr. Trump was not. Republicans defended the president and accused Democrats of making political hay when unity was needed. “The 30 / 7 criticism the president is undergoing is unwarranted at a minimum, ”said Representative Mark Green, Republican of Tennessee. Democrats on the committee hit back. “We will not be lectured about politicization, and all of your words and sanctimony will not cover up the fact that this administration was not prepared for this crisis and put lives, American lives, at risk,” Representative Gerald Connolly, Democrat of Virginia, snapped, waving a photo of Mr. Trump touring the Atlanta headquarters of the C.D.C. wearing his signature campaign hat. The Fauci responded testily, “I have never ever held back telling exactly what is going on from from a public health standpoint.” “People always say, ‘Well, the flu does this, the flu does that.’ The flu has a mortality of 0.1 percent. This has a mortality of times that, ”Dr. Fauci said. He also indicated that the N.B.A. should take immediate measures to keep crowds away from its games, something the league has said it is considering. “We would recommend that there not be large crowds. If that means not having any people in the audience as the N.B.A. plays, so be it, ”he said. The N.B.A. has has notified teams to make plans in case “it were to become necessary to play a game with only essential staff present,” meaning without fans or reporters. On Tuesday, the Ivy League canceled its conference basketball tournaments because of the coronavirus, and large business meetings and festivals have been canceled or postponed around the nation. Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington was expected to ban events in the Seattle area above 300 people to ward off the continued spread of the virus in the state, which has seen one of the most lethal outbreaks. Lawmakers blasted the Trump administration for delays and manufacturing snags in distributing tests to laboratories across the country, where state health labs have been desperate for more of them to keep up with the surge of patients . (Washing your hands) Frequently is the most important thing you can do, along with staying at home when you’re sick and (avoiding touching your face.) 
days to appear , include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Milder cases may resemble the flu or a bad cold, but people may be able to pass on the virus even before they develop symptoms. () (Read More)
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