Trade Adviser Warned White House in January of Risks of a Pandemic
A memo from Peter Navarro is the most direct warning known to have circulated at a key moment among top administration officials.
The travel limits subsequently imposed by Mr. Trump did not entirely ban travel from China, and many travelers from the country continued to stream into the United States.
Mr. Navarro was at odds with medical experts like Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, who had argued that such travel bans only delay the eventual spread.
Mr. Navarro alluded to that debate on Saturday during a separate argument with Dr. Fauci in the Situation Room about whether the
anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine was effective in treating or preventing the virus, according to two people familiar with the events.
In the memo, Mr. Navarro cautioned that it was “unlikely the introduction of the coronavirus into the U.S. population in significant numbers will mimic a ‘seasonal flu’ event with relatively low contagion and mortality rates.”