--- title: Wuhan Coronavirus: U.S. Response Grows, but No Emergency Declaration description: The Trump Administration has begun scrambling a response to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak but has not declared a public health emergency. canonical: https://time.com/5773396/u-s-response-to-coronavirus-grows-but-no-emergency-declaration-yet/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-01-29T00:46:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:21.681Z article:section: Politics og:title: U.S. Response to Wuhan Coronavirus Grows, But No Emergency Declaration Yet og:description: The Trump Administration has begun scrambling a response to the outbreak og:url: https://time.com/5773396/u-s-response-to-coronavirus-grows-but-no-emergency-declaration-yet/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7e4858a1a1d5655/698a096b09208f54324163ba/GettyImages-1197105871.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Health And Human Services Briefs The Media On The Department's Response To The Coronavirus og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. Response to Wuhan Coronavirus Grows, But No Emergency Declaration Yet twitter:description: The Trump Administration has begun scrambling a response to the outbreak twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7e4858a1a1d5655/698a096b09208f54324163ba/GettyImages-1197105871.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # U.S. Response to Wuhan Coronavirus Grows, But No Emergency Declaration Yet > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Virus Expert on the Wuhan Coronavirus Outbreak: 'Don’t Be Complacent. We Must Treat It Extremely Seriously' [Watch (HLS stream): Virus Expert on the Wuhan Coronavirus Outbreak: 'Don’t Be Complacent. We Must Treat It Extremely Seriously'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/I5nUfZc1.m3u8) (1:38)  _Published 2020-01-24. Hong Kong infectious disease expert Yuen Kwok-yung discussed the situation of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak with TIME in an exclusive interview. He warns that the disease is very infectious and control measures must be followed._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 29, 2020 12:46 AM UTC  Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar speaks during a press conference on the coordinated public health response to the 2019 coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Washington, DC, on January 28, 2020. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar speaks during a press conference on the coordinated public health response to the 2019 coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Washington, DC, on January 28, 2020. Samuel Corum—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 29, 2020 12:46 AM UTC The Trump Administration has begun scrambling a response to the [coronavirus outbreak](https://time.com/5772481/china-coronavirus-latest/) that originated in the [central Chinese city of Wuhan](https://time.com/5769323/wuhan-coronavirus-outbreak/)—but has so far stopped short of declaring the situation a public health emergency. “Americans should know that this is a potentially very serious public health threat, but, at this point, Americans should not worry for their own safety,” Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said during a press conference on Tuesday. “This is a very fast-moving, constantly changing situation.” The U.S. has [five confirmed cases](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html) of the deadly virus as of Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Though Washington has yet to declare a public health emergency in the U.S., Azar said he “won’t hesitate at all to invoke any steps we need to take” as the situation unfolds, and the government has started taking other steps to address the outbreak that has killed more than 100 people and [infected more than 4,500 worldwide](https://time.com/5772254/wuhan-coronavirus-infections-higher/), largely in China. The CDC and the State Department issued a [travel advisory](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/china-travel-advisory.html) on Monday warning Americans to avoid travel to all of China if possible, and especially to Wuhan, where the virus was first identified. “No American should travel to Wuhan while this virus continues to have impact,” Vice President Mike Pence [said](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-vice-president-pence-white-house-initiative-asian-americans-pacific-islanders-lunar-new-year-celebration/). The Administration has also started conducting advanced screening at the 20 U.S. airports that “receive 90 percent of all passengers from China,” according to Pence. “Any passengers who are ill will receive additional screening,” he said. On Tuesday, the U.S. government [chartered a flight](https://time.com/5772941/us-citizens-loved-ones-wuhan-coronavirus/) to take several hundred Americans, including diplomats and family members, out of China. All of the confirmed cases in the United States have been in individuals who had recently traveled to China. “No person-to-person spread has been detected with this virus at the time, and this virus is NOT currently spreading in the community in the United States,” reads the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) summary](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/summary.html) of the situation. On Monday, Trump tweeted that his Administration is in “close communication” with China and have offered “any help that is necessary.” > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1221809170673958913) The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), which has [come under fire](https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/480051-is-coronavirus-a-global-emergency-what-we-dont-know-can-be-dangerous) for not yet declaring the new coronavirus a global health emergency, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday. The organization [announced](https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/28-01-2020-who-china-leaders-discuss-next-steps-in-battle-against-coronavirus-outbreak) that “the two sides agreed that WHO will send international experts to visit China as soon as possible to work with Chinese counterparts on increasing understanding of the outbreak to guide global response efforts.” HHS Secretary Azar said the same day that the Trump Administration has also offered to send assistance from the CDC, but has not yet received the go-ahead. The Senate was briefed on the virus on Jan. 24, and the House of Representatives is holding a briefing for its members on Wednesday. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is running for the Democratic nomination for president, wrote [an op-ed](https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/01/27/coronavirus-donald-trump-made-us-less-prepared-joe-biden-column/4581710002/) for USA Today on Jan. 27 arguing that “Trump’s demonstrated failures of judgment and his repeated rejection of science make him the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health challenge.” But Trump and Pence are still projecting confidence in their ability to handle the brewing crisis. “Here in our country, we’re taking strong steps to see to the health and the wellbeing of the American people,” Pence said Monday. “But as President Trump made clear today, the United States of America stands ready — stands ready to assist the people of China and around the world as they deal with this virus.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5773396/u-s-response-to-coronavirus-grows-but-no-emergency-declaration-yet/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5773396/u-s-response-to-coronavirus-grows-but-no-emergency-declaration-yet/"},"headline":"U.S. Response to Wuhan Coronavirus Grows, But No Emergency Declaration Yet","datePublished":"2020-01-29T00:46:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:52:21.681Z","description":"The Trump Administration has begun scrambling a response to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak but has not declared a public health emergency.","url":"https://time.com/5773396/u-s-response-to-coronavirus-grows-but-no-emergency-declaration-yet/","keywords":["White House","Infectious Disease","COVID-19"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7e4858a1a1d5655/698a096b09208f54324163ba/GettyImages-1197105871.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7e4858a1a1d5655/698a096b09208f54324163ba/GettyImages-1197105871.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Health And Human Services Briefs The Media On The Department's Response To The Coronavirus","caption":"Health And Human Services Briefs The Media On The Department's Response To The Coronavirus","creditText":"Samuel Corum—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5773396/u-s-response-to-coronavirus-grows-but-no-emergency-declaration-yet/","name":"U.S. Response to Wuhan Coronavirus Grows, But No Emergency Declaration Yet"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Virus Expert on the Wuhan Coronavirus Outbreak: 'Don’t Be Complacent. 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