Avoid Seattle, Trump's top economic advisor says

Speaking on the cable business channel CNBC, President Trump’s top economic advisor Larry Kudlow suggested people might want to avoid Seattle.

Seattle is the epicenter of the outbreak of coronvirus in the U.S., with 14 deaths so far, mostly related to a single nursing home in Kirkland.

Kudlow’s main talking points were that people should return to work if they’re healthy – at least in most of America.

“If you get it, 80 percent come out of this with no problem. Now, pre-existing conditions, yeah, you better be really cognizant,” he said. “For most people, if you’re healthy, go back to work. Go back to business. That’s our advice."

He said domestic flight, for the most part, is in good shape – providing people don’t go to countries with travel warnings regarding COVID-19.

"Let's not overreact," he said.

But what about Seattle?

“With respect to Seattle, that would be a place you would avoid for now,” Kudlow said. "Gavin Newsom, Gov. Newsom, declaring California an emergency state, especially northern California, I understand that. Avoid it. But the rest of the country is not suffering from those kinds of breakouts. At least not yet."

Watch the clip:

Kudlow’s tone contrasted with Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Washington state on Thursday. “As we stand here today, our hearts grieve the loss of 12 Americans, particularly to those families here in Washington state. Please know that you have the condolences of every American. And you're on our hearts for your loss,” Pence said at a news conference at Camp Murray, the state’s National Guard headquarters. Pence is leading the White House’s task force on the coronavirus response. Reviews of the Trump administration’s response to the outbreak have been mixed.

According to the Washington Department of Health, a shipment from the feds represented only about half of the 233,280 N95 respirators, 200,000 surgical procedure masks, 60,000 disposal gowns and 5,000 protective eye shields the state has requested. A DOH spokesperson said the state expects to get the second half of the request, but it's not clear when. On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that Washington's half-filled request was evidence of a shortage of vital medical equipment needed to respond to the growing crisis. The supplies will be reserved for frontline health care workers engaged in the coronavirus response.

Prior to Pence’s arrival in Washington, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray released a sternly worded four-page letter demanding answers to a number of questions about the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus response. Of particular concern to Murray were delays in the availability of diagnostic tests.

“I am extremely frustrated by how the Trump Administration has handled the deployment of such tests, including how it has communicated to Congress and the public about when, where, and to whom tests will be available,” Murray wrote in her letter to Pence. “In the midst of this public health emergency, the Trump Administration must do better.”

However, on Tuesday of this week, from his official Twitter account, Inslee struck a more conciliatory tone with the Trump administration. He said he had talked with Pence and CDC Director Robert Redfield and asked them to remove restrictions on access to testing.

“They have announced changes consistent with what I had asked for,” Inslee tweeted. “I appreciate the responsiveness to state requests on COVID-19.”

Isolde Raftery is KUOW's online managing editor and can be reached at iraftery@kuow.org or via direct message on twitter @isolderaftery.