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By Mark Gruenberg
WASHINGTON—Presenting solid facts and contradicting GOP President Donald Trump’s rosy assurances, federal health officials are warning the country to take precautions against the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S.—and a warning signal went up just after Trump’s press conference.
Health officials stressed common-sense precautions people can take to prevent the spread of infection: Thorough hand-washing, self-quarantine—people with symptoms should stay home except for doctors’ appointments—and, if you develop symptoms, avoid crowds. So did a retired professor of internal medicine that spoke with People’s World, Dr. Gail Povar of George Washington University, whose practice included many flu and viral sufferers.
Trump previously predicted the coronavirus would run its course by mid-April, and told the press on Feb. 26 the U.S. has had “tremendous success” in containing it. But his own Centers for Disease Control director, Robert Redfield, told Congress earlier that day that “it’s prudent to assume this pathogen will be with us for some time to come.”
The coronavirus emerged late last year in China’s Hubei province, in the city of Wuhan, and has infected tens of thousands of people there. Several cities, housing tens of millions of people, have been placed under quarantine and travel restrictions to try to stop its spread.
Those lockdowns are...
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