Pence pledges ‘full support’ to Washington in coronavirus fight

TACOMA, Wash. — During a visit to the Washington state Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence pledged the Trump administration’s full support to state officials as the coronavirus death toll rises.

Washington has been the hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., with at least 136 confirmed infections and 19 dead. Most of those who died were residents of Life Care Center, a nursing home in Kirkland. Researchers say the virus may have been circulating undetected for weeks.

>>Latest updates on coronavirus in Washington

“As the state of Washington, and the Seattle area in particular, deals with the coronavirus, we're going to continue to make sure that you have the full support of every agency in the federal government," Pence said after touring the state's emergency response center. “We know you're the front line."

Pence attended a round-table meeting with Gov. Jay Inslee, members of Washington's congressional delegation and local officials to discuss coordinating response to the outbreak.

>>'Our families are dying:’ Relatives of residents at Kirkland facility share coronavirus concerns

Earlier Thursday, Pence met with 3M CEO Mike Roman and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at the company's global headquarters just outside Minneapolis. The company is a major manufacturer of masks used by health professionals to help stem the spread of the virus.

At 3M, Pence called on the public to refrain from buying masks unless they're sick. “Unless you are ill, you have no need to buy a mask,” he said.

Surgeon General Jerome Adams echoed the same message from Washington, saying: “My advice to folks: Stop buying masks if you’re part of the general public. Leave them for the health care providers so they can take care of people who are sick."

Asked whether there were enough coronavirus testing kits for people who want them, Pence responded, ”I think we are ready today but we want to be ready tomorrow.”

He acknowledged, “We don't have enough tests today to meet what we anticipate will be the demand going forward." However, he added, "we’ve made real progress on that in the last several days.”

The vice president has been tasked by Trump to coordinate the U.S. government's response to the outbreak, which has put many U.S. communities on edge and scrambled global financial markets. The disease has killed 12 in the U.S., the vast majority in Washington state, and infected dozens more.

Pence had been scheduled to hold campaign events in Minnesota and Wisconsin on Thursday but scrapped those plans to focus on the coronavirus response.

The vice president has scaled back, but not ended, his political travel since becoming the administration’s virus point-person. In naming the VP to the post, some Trump aides believe it allowed the president to maintain his political travel during a crucial part of the election year, when he’s trying to take advantage of the Democratic field’s divisions to boost his campaign in November.

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