BY BRETT
SAMUELS - 01/29/20 11:17 PM EST
The White House on
Wednesday announced the formation of a task force to monitor
the coronavirus as global health officials seek to combat the
outbreak of the disease in China.
Press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a
statement that the task force has met daily since Monday and will lead the
government response to monitor and contain the disease. President Trump chaired a meeting on the matter at the
White House earlier Wednesday.
"The risk of infection for Americans remains low, and all
agencies are working aggressively to monitor this continuously evolving
situation and to keep the public informed," Grisham said.
etary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar is leading the task force, the
White House said. Other members include national security adviser Robert
O'Brien, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert
Redfield, top National Institutes of Health official Anthony Fauci and several
other administration officials.
The coronavirus outbreak has killed at least 132 people in
China, with more than 6,000 confirmed cases of infection. There are only
five confirmed cases in the U.S.
U.S. officials on Wednesday got the go-ahead to travel to China to
study the coronavirus, lawmakers told The Hill. The World Health
Organization (WHO) has also received permission to send a team of experts to
collaborate with the Chinese government.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.)
on Tuesday called for the administration to
implement a “targeted travel ban” to stop the spread of the disease.
Officials have thus far been reluctant to take such a significant step to
restrict travel.
--Updated at 11:32 p.m.
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