On the same day that President Trump confirmed that he and the first lady were infected with the new coronavirus, U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar defended the First Family’s failure to wear masks during the presidential debate at a congressional hearing on Friday (Oct. 2). Azar also reiterated his criticism of the Chinese government for withholding information during the early stages of the outbreak.
In reporting to the House Select Committee on the New Coronavirus Crisis on U.S. efforts to address the neo-coronavirus crisis, Azar began by expressing hope that President Trump, the First Lady, and all Americans who are struggling with the new coronavirus will make a speedy and full recovery.
Democrats questioned President Trump and his family for not wearing masks during Tuesday’s first presidential debate.
“You keep saying we’re going to wear masks, so how do you respond to the first family not wearing masks during the presidential debate?” Federal Assemblywoman Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat from New York, questioned Azar at the hearing, “Does this make your job harder?”
“Our advice has always been to wash your hands, maintain social distance, and wear a mask,” replied Azar, “but the protection of the First Family and the President is not the same as ours, because of many other measures.”
This is “setting a bad example for the American people,” Mr. Velazquez noted.
The China issue also came up frequently at the hearing. Rep. Jackie Walorski, a Republican from Indiana, asked Azar a series of questions about China’s initial efforts to conceal the neocon outbreak.
“Secretary Azar, if China had shared the virus sequence with us earlier, wouldn’t so many American lives have been lost?” Varosky asked.
“Yes”, Azar answered.
“If China hadn’t concealed the passing of people, so many American lives wouldn’t have been lost?”
“Exactly.”
“If China hadn’t stockpiled personal protective equipment, so many American lives wouldn’t have been lost?”
“Absolutely.”
“If China hadn’t made the World Health Organization so corrupt, so many American lives wouldn’t have been lost?”
“Yes.”
“If China had let American scientists into the investigation, not so many American lives would have been lost?”
“Indeed,” Azhar replied.
It was the first time since the outbreak of the neo-crowning epidemic in the United States that Azhar was questioned by members of Congress about the U.S. strategy for dealing with a neo-crowning epidemic. He was last questioned in February, when he stated that the likelihood of a new outbreak in the U.S. was “very low.
As of today, the United States has the highest number of confirmed neo-crown cases in the world, 7.3 million, and more than 200,000 deaths.
Representative Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee, also criticized the Chinese Communist Party for concealing the epidemic in the first place.
“They lied to us, they delayed our response, and they stockpiled personal protective equipment and silenced people who reported the truth,” Green said. “If China had told us two weeks earlier, 84 percent of the deaths in the United States could have been prevented. If China had been transparent and had warned us earlier, 173,000 American lives would not have been lost.”
In addition to China’s influence on the new crown issue, Azar also said at the hearing that the U.S. will not adopt herd immunity.
“Herd immunity is not the current strategy that the United States is pursuing in response to the new crown,” Azar said in response to Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland.
“In places like New York or other places where cases are clustered, herd immunity may slow the spread. Our mission is to reduce deaths, protect vulnerable populations, and keep neo-crown cases at the lowest possible level,” he said.
Earlier, White House adviser on the neo-crown epidemic Scott Atlas advocated for the United States to adopt a population immunization strategy similar to Sweden’s, which allows the neo-crown virus to spread through the population to achieve population immunity for the majority of the population.
Atlas was questioned hours after President Trump and First Lady Melania tested positive for the new coronavirus. According to the CDC, President Trump’s age and weight put him in a high-risk category.
Meanwhile, President Trump’s aide Hope Hicks, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah, and Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina have all tested positive for new crowns.
Azar tweeted that the new crowns he received early Friday morning were negative for control purposes. He attended the parliamentary questioning as planned.
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