This is a terrifying distinction for the White House to be making. A disease with a 10% fatality rate but low transmission rate would be a walk in the park compared to a disease with a 2% fatality rate and a high transmission rate.
In comparison, the U.S. has run 14 tests in the past three days.
I mean, does anyone know of a place where I can bet a lot of money that there are already hundreds of people in the U.S. who have been locally infected with coronavirus? Because it seems impossible for that not to be the case.
And the President is now saying that coronavirus is the "new hoax" aimed at harming him. He says lots of people die every year from the flu already, and implies it's silly to get worked up over the fact people might die from a new kind of flu.
Trump has been signalling for days that he wants coronavirus deaths to be written off as just another sad things that happens but no big deal, and in no way his responsibility.
Trump, on coronavirus: "Things happen. Things happen in life."
Trump now claims the Wall will combat coronavirus, because walls are "health security."
Look, coronavirus is a serious public health issue, but also from everything we've seen, it can be managed. It's not an apocalypse, not even a tiny one.
But a botched response could mean that tens of thousands of people will die from deaths that were preventable.
But a botched response could mean that tens of thousands of people will die from deaths that were preventable.
