CDC taps over $100M in reserve funds for virus fight

The Trump administration has notified Congress that it will tap $105 million from a reserve fund designed to combat infectious diseases as it responds to the novel coronavirus that has sickened thousands in China and put the rest of the globe on high alert.

The money will support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s screening at ports of entry, support lab activity, educate the public and transfer and monitor U.S. citizens being transferred out of China.

Also, the Health and Human Service Department might transfer an additional $136 million from other accounts to combat the outbreak, which is evolving by the day.

“With the disease outbreak expanding rapidly in China, and more cases occurring in the United States, it is not possible to project exact funding needs weeks in advance,” an HHS spokesperson told The Washington Times.

HHS notified Congress Sunday it might need to transfer the money “out of an abundance of caution and to ensure HHS’s ability to respond and adapt to a rapidly changing situation,” though it’s not certain that it will do the transfer.

The law requires the agency to wait 15 days after providing notice to Congress to access the funds. A person familiar with the request on Capitol Hill said HHS might not transfer the full amount and has not identified which accounts might be drawn down to accommodate the transfer.

The push for money underscores the urgency of the situation around the coronavirus traced back to a live-animal market in Wuhan, China.

China’s stock market reportedly plummeted upon opening Monday, as the World Health Organization reported that nearly 17,400 people have been sickened by the virus, including a spike of 2,800 new cases over the prior 24 hours.

The bulk of cases are in China but 153 cases have been reported in 23 other countries, including 11 in the U.S. Most recently, a couple in California became ill after the husband traveled to the Hubei province at the heart of the outbreak.

U.S. officials on Sunday imposed levels of quarantine rules for U.S. citizens returning from China and a ban on foreign nationals who’ve been in China within the past 14 days, with exceptions for family members of U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

A lot is still unknown about the novel coronavirus but it can cause severe pneumonia and acute respiratory distress, evoking the SARS epidemic from 2002-2003.