Pence says the White House isn't considering a nationwide lockdown to halt coronavirus

ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump (R) stands behind US Vice President Mike Pence as he speaks at a news conference with members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) on the COVID-19 outbreak at the White House on February 26, 2020.

• Vice President Mike Pence said the White House was not considering a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
• Countries like the U.K. and India have taken these drastic steps in order to decrease transmission of the coronavirus.
• Several states have ordered their residents to stay at home, or closed non-essential businesses, to prevent people from gathering.
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As countries like the U.K. and India impose nationwide lockdowns to slow the transmission of the novel coronavirus, Vice President Mike Pence said that the Trump administration was not considering such an option.

"I can tell you that at no point has the White House Coronavirus Task Force discussed a nationwide lockdown," Pence said during a Tuesday town hall interview with Fox News.

Pence stressed the "15 Days to Slow the Spread" initiative, where the White House urged people to take steps such as washing their hands, avoiding nursing homes where vulnerable populations live, and limiting gatherings to fewer than 10 people.

Businesses and restaurants around the country have been forced to close and workers have lost their jobs as a result of the social distancing measures that are being used to prevent cases of the virus from spiking and and overwhelming the U.S. medical system. States like California, Ohio, New York and Washington have ordered residents to stay home and directed non-essential business to shutter temporarily.

"President Trump and I and everyone on our team fully supports decisions by state and local officials that may be stronger than this," Pence said, holding up a copy of the White House coronavirus guidelines.

But Trump has expressed concern about the impact these shutdowns have had on the economy, and signaled in Monday night's briefing that he would like businesses to be able to reopen faster than the "several weeks" that his top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said the measures may need to remain in place.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there had been 44,183 reported coronavirus cases in the U.S. since January 21, and 544 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

On Monday, the United Kingdom essentially went into a country-wide lockdown, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson issuing a "stay-at-home"order for citizens. People would only be allowed to shop for necessities, perform medical duties, engage in one form of exercise a day, and only go to work if essential.

"From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction -- you must stay at home," Johnson said. "Because the critical thing we must do is stop the disease spreading between households."

In India, Prime Minister ordered a 21-day lockdown of the country.

"There will be a total ban of coming out of your homes,'' Modi said, according to the New York Times.

"Every district, every lane, every village will be under lockdown,'' he said. "If you can't handle these 21 days, this country will go back 21 years."

Read more: 'Trump kept saying it was basically pretty much a cure': Woman whose husband died after ingesting chloroquine warns the public not to 'believe anything that the president says'

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