U.S. Vice President Mike Pence moved Thursday to control the flow of information from federal agencies about the virus response, ordering that public communications be cleared by their offices.
According to the Associated Press, a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the internal guidance, said the decision was made to ensure the whole-of-government response was on message.
The new communications approach follows President Donald Trump's decision on Wednesday to make Pence the government's point-person for the epidemic.
The New York Times, which first reported Pence's messaging role, also said one of the country's leading experts on viruses and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Dr. Anthony Fauci, was recently instructed by the White House not to say anything else about the virus without clearance.
During his meeting with Pence on Thursday, Fauci noted "this virus has adapted extremely well to human species" and warned of the higher mortality rate of the virus than influenza.
Vice President Mike Pence (R), accompanied by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, speaks during a coronavirus task force meeting at the Department of Health and Human Services, in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2020. /AP
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Trump administration rushed to contain mounting public concerns and some of the worst stock market declines in more than a decade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank nearly 1,200 points Thursday, deepening a week-long global market rout caused by worries that the coronavirus will wreak economic havoc around the world. Stocks are headed for their worst week since October 2008, during the global financial crisis.
Pence said on Thursday that the threat from coronavirus to the American public remains low, and the White House has begun discussions with leaders of the U.S. Congress on a supplemental spending bill to fighting the spread of the deadly infectious disease.
"Our best estimate is that the threat to the American public... remains low," Pence said. "In the days ahead we're going to make sure that the full resources of the federal government continue to be brought to bear in confronting the coronavirus here at home."
Pence also said that he is leading the White House's task force on addressing the deadly disease and will rely on Health Secretary Alex Azar as its chairman.
(With input from agencies)