PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Vice President Mike Pence says it’s up to Gov. Tom Wolf to decide when parts of the state should reopen for business.
In an interview seen only KDKA, political editor Jon Delano spoke with Pence on Thursday and asked him about that and whether the worst is over amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Some Republicans say Governor Wolf has moved too slowly to reopen counties, but the man who heads up President Donald Trump’s Coronavirus Task Force is deferential.
“We want to defer to the decision that not only Governor Wolf is making, but governors around the country,” Pence told Jon Delano. “But the guidelines to open up America again that the president’s Coronavirus Task Force issued were intended to give a framework for states to responsibly and safely reopen.”
That framework came under scrutiny with reports the White House rejected a 17-page guidance from the CDC to local officials on how and when to reopen public places.
Pence told KDKA the report is not true.
“Absolutely not. Dr. Robert Redfield is a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and over the last week, CDC has been working on additional recommendations and guidance for reopening communities returning to public events,” Pence said.
Pence was asked if the worst was over or will many more Americans die in the months ahead?
“As you look around Pennsylvania and look around the country, we see hospitalizations declining, emergency room admissions declining. We’re seeing real evidence that because of what the people of Pennsylvania have done, and people across this country have done, that we have slowed the spread,” Pence said.
So will this election be a referendum on President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus?
Pence praised President Trump but added their success on lots of issues is what voters will judge.
*story by CBS Pittsburgh