The president had tweeted that Americans “need the Wall more than ever!”
Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday that he was unaware of any indication from his agency that physical barriers along America’s borders would help halt the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. — contradicting an assertion President Donald Trump made earlier in the day.
Appearing before House lawmakers to testify about the public health crisis and the White House’s budget request for his agency, Redfield was asked by Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) if the CDC’s recommendations for combating the coronavirus addressed whether “structural barriers” at the borders “would be of any use in mitigating” the growing outbreak.
“Not that I’ve seen,” Redfield replied.
As the federal government has struggled to mount a cohesive response to the coronavirus threat over the past few weeks, Trump has repeatedly promoted the administration’s move in late January to bar entry from foreign nationals who had recently been in China and institute a mandatory two-week quarantine for U.S. citizens returning from the epicenter of the outbreak.
On Tuesday morning, Trump claimed that his campaign trail pledge of a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border would also aid in containing the coronavirus, writing on Twitter that the structure is “Going up fast” and adding: “We need the Wall more than ever!”
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director said he was unaware of any indication from his agency that physical barriers along U.S. borders would help halt the spread of the coronavirus — contradicting an assertion Trump made earlier today https://t.co/OqduGfEkYr
— POLITICO (@politico) March 10, 2020
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