As Trump played down virus, health experts’ alarm grew

 Washington - Public health officials were already warning Americans about the need to prepare for the coronavirus threat in early February, when President Donald Trump called it "deadly things" in a private conversation that has only now come to the fore. light.

At the time, the virus was primarily a problem in China, with only 11 confirmed cases in the United States.

There was uncertainty about how the United States would ultimately be affected, and top U.S. officials would send some mixed messages along the way. But his overall goal was to take the matter seriously.

"We're preparing like this is a pandemic," Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters on February 5. "This is just good common sense public health."

Trump, however, had a louder megaphone than his health experts, and in public he was downplaying the threat. Three days after delivering his "deadly" assessment in a private call with journalist Bob Woodward, he told a rally in New Hampshire on February 10, "It's going to be fine."

Trump's recognition in Woodward's new book "Rage" that he was downplaying the severity of the virus in public to avoid causing panic has triggered waves of criticism that he was not catching up with the American people.

The White House has tried to respond to those criticisms by pointing to selected comments from US health experts to suggest that they were on the same page with Trump the entire time.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany highlighted comments from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, to try to show that Trump did not lie to the public. She cited a Feb.17 interview in which Fauci focused her concern on the developing seasonal flu.

But a day later, Fauci had spoken of the potentially alarming implications of the new virus, saying: “Not only do we not have an appreciation of the magnitude, what is even more concerning is that we do not have an appreciation of where the magnitude is heading. . "

The mixed security messages added to the confusion. There was considerable discussion about the wearing of masks in the early days of the pandemic, with leading experts advising against the public and saying that masks should be left to healthcare workers.

"Seriously folks - STOP BUYING MASKS!" US Surgeon General Jerome Adams tweeted on February 29. Later, authorities recommended that people cover their faces in public and around people who do not live in their home, according to a review of the most recent evidence.

People might find different conclusions in Fauci's pronouncements. He told the USA Today editorial board on February 17 that the CDC would test people for coronavirus in five major cities when they show up at clinics with flu-like symptoms.

If those tests showed that the virus had infiltrated the country in places that federal officials were not aware of, "we have a problem," Fauci said. Still, the headline highlighted his observation that the danger posed by the virus was mild. It read: "Top disease official: The risk of coronavirus in the US is 'miniscule'."

Larry Gostin, a Georgetown University professor who has advised Republican and Democratic administrations on public health issues, said honest mistakes and expressions of uncertainty by public health officials should not be confused with Trump's effort to downplay the COVID-19 threat.

"It is irrefutable that it has downplayed the epidemic and bypassed trusted scientists and, in some cases, muzzled them," Gostin said.

He added: "I categorically deny the idea that there was not a strong consensus of public health experts at the time saying this was a very serious problem."

Trump himself told Woodward on March 19 that he had deliberately downplayed the danger. "I always wanted to downplay it," said the president. "I still like to downplay it because I don't want to create panic."

Critics have long noted how Trump's public comments were out of sync with those of public health officials, contributing to the confusion among Americans.

When Trump left for India on February 23, he told reporters that the virus was "very under control" and that the small number of infected people in the United States was "very well confined."

But two days later, the CDC's Messonnier told reporters: "It is not so much a question of whether this will happen anymore, but rather a question of when it will happen and how many people in this country will have a serious illness."

Shares plummeted after his comments, and shortly after, Trump appointed Vice President Mike Pence to lead the White House coronavirus task force. At the press conference that announced Pence's selection, Trump was asked if he agreed with the inevitability of COVID-19 in the United States.

"Well, I don't think it's inevitable. It probably will. It possibly will. It could be at a very small level or it could be at a larger level. Whatever happens, we are fully prepared," Trump said.

Sandra Crouse Quinn, proA University of Maryland professor who researches crisis communications during public health emergencies, she said it is critical not to overindulge in a pandemic.

"You help the public anticipate what is coming," he said.

Dr Howard Koh of the Harvard School of Public Health said that resolutely communicating what is known as soon as possible helps build the confidence that will be needed as the pandemic progresses.

Koh said the White House's role in a pandemic is to galvanize national attention for public health officials and then get out of the way. But that hasn't been the case under Trump, said Koh, who was in the Department of He.