The Coronavirus has spread far and wide within the United States, and on top of the problems on the mainland, the Grand Princess cruise ship, which is currently off the California coast, has faced at least 21 passengers testing positive for the illness. The ship is set to dock at an Oakland port on Monday, at which time a carefully controlled disembarkation process for passengers is set to get underway, but on Sunday morning — with barely a day to go, if that — Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson declined to “preview” what that process would actually entail. Are they going into this blind?
Directly asked by ABC host George Stephanopoulos what the plan was to deal with the situation of the around 3,500 people on the Grand Princess cruise ship, Carson responded:
‘The vice president met with the CEOs of the major cruise ship companies yesterday, and they are coming up with a plan within 72 hours of that meeting.’
Stephanopoulos cut in to point out that the Grand Princess is scheduled to dock tomorrow, as the ship’s captain has revealed.
Carson stumbled through the response that he offered next, continuing:
‘The plan will be in place by that time, but I don’t want to preview the plan right now.’
Stephanopoulos pointed out that one might expect a Cabinet secretary dealing with health issues in the U.S. to be able to preview a plan for dealing with thousands of potentially sick people the day before they’re set to arrive at a U.S. port to await treatment.
On the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was held off the coast of Japan for two weeks recently, a full 700 people ended up contracting the virus.
Carson continued:
‘I think it all needs to come from a solitary source. We shouldn’t have 16 people saying what the plan is, particularly when it hasn’t been fully formulated.’
In other words, he appears to be keeping quiet in an effort to serve the messaging and propaganda efforts of others in the administration, like President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, the latter of whom has been tasked with leading and coordinating the administration’s Coronavirus response.
Watch:
Pressed on plans to handle 3,500 people on board the Grand Princess Cruise ship where 21 passengers tested positive for COVID-19, Sec. Carson tells @GStephanopoulos he doesn't "want to preview the plan right now." https://t.co/sk3xGytf04 pic.twitter.com/ryko0w52ml
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 8, 2020
The at times wildly information-lacking responses from the Trump administration to the Coronavirus situation underscore just how precarious the situation really is. Confirmed cases in the U.S. have shot up past 400 as testing has actually gotten underway at a large-scale, which took weeks to actually happen. Cases have popped up in the majority of U.S. states — and even Washington, D.C. — and at least 19 people have died in the U.S. so far. Although many sufferers have recovered, the disease is especially dangerous to those already immunocompromised.
Trump has provided no back-up on which Carson and the rest of the administration can fall, let alone American observers. On Sunday morning, where was his attention? He was focusing on attacking the media for supposed “fake news” instead of dealing either with the actual stumblings of his administration or addressing people’s concerns about what has taken place. He even brought back his insistence that “fake news” is the “enemy of the people”!
We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus. We moved VERY early to close borders to certain areas, which was a Godsend. V.P. is doing a great job. The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to make us look bad. Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 8, 2020
The New York Times is an embarrassment to journalism. They were a dead paper before I went into politics, and they will be a dead paper after I leave, which will be in 5 years. Fake News is the Enemy of the people!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 8, 2020
