Trump Appoints Pence To Lead Government's Coronavirus Response

Hours after the White House rejected the idea of appointing a coronavirus czar, President Trump on Wednesday put Vice President Pence in charge of the administration's response to the disease.

"We're doing really well, and Mike is going to be in charge," Trump said, noting that Pence's experience as governor of Indiana made him adept at working with state and local health authorities.

"This is not a czar," the president later added.

The president's remarks came as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention disclosed a new case of the COVID-19 disease in California that could represent the first U.S. case of the virus spreading within the general population.

At the White House news conference alongside members of the administration's coronavirus task force and health officials, the president insisted that the risk to the American people from the virus "remains very low."

He also noted that the "regular flu" kills many more people each year. He took credit for making "very good early decisions" that helped prevent the new coronavirus from becoming more widespread in the United States.

"We're ready to adapt and ready to do whatever we have to as the disease spreads if it spreads," he said, adding that he plans to add an unnamed specialist from the State Department to the White House team.