At a White House news conference on February 26, 2020, President Trump announced that Vice President Mike Pence would coordinate the government’s response to the public health threat and lead the Coronavirus Taskforce, he wanted governors and members of Congress to have a single point-person to communicate with [1, 2]
At the news conference Dr. Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the C.D.C., warned Americans that there would be more infections, there is currently 60, though “the trajectory of what we’re looking at over the weeks and months ahead is very uncertain.”
Pence selected Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the director of the United States effort to combat H.I.V. and AIDS, to serve as the Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House. Mr. Trump said that “Mike is going to be in charge, and Mike will report back to me.” Meanwhile, Alex M. Azar II, the health and human services secretary, remains the chairman of the government’s coronavirus task force.
The appointment of a taskforce was “to coordinate the alphabet soup of federal health and security agencies that have roles to play in protecting the country.”
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, told associates that the White House had instructed him not to say anything else without clearance.
The announcement also came on a day when the CDC reported a person infected, with no known risk factors, who did not appear to have traveled to countries hard hit by the virus or been exposed to a known coronavirus patient. “That raised the prospect that the virus was spreading through unknown means.” At this point the CDC limited testing for the virus to people who have traveled in China or have come into contact with someone who has, where as other countries are testing more broadly. [3]