The White House is discussing disbanding the president’s coronavirus task force, Vice President Mike Pence told reporters.
“We’re having conversations about that,” Pence said in a briefing the task force held for reporters on Tuesday, confirming an earlier report by the New York Times.
The White House plans to transition the government’s response to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he said.
Pence portrayed the task force as having accomplished its goal, as the U.S. outbreak -- the largest in the world -- plateaus. There have been nearly 1.2 million cases of Covid-19 and more than 69,000 deaths from the disease, but states are beginning to try to reopen businesses and lift social-distancing regulations as the growth of the outbreak slows.
“We have slowed the spread, we have flattened the curve,” Pence said. U.S. communities aren’t “out of the woods yet,” he said, but now have the resources they need.
“We are very confident we can meet the moment” with resources now available at hospitals, he said.
On Sunday, Trump revised upward the number of the deaths he expects from the outbreak, saying the total could reach 100,000. In April he had said he thought between 50,000 and 60,000 Americans would die.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.