ABC's George Stephanopoulos interviewed neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson about the coronavirus on March 8, 2020. (Photo: Screen capture)

(CNSNews.com) - At the end of his Sunday interview with Dr. Ben Carson, a member of the Trump administration's coronavirus task force, host George Stephanopoulos told Carson he was "confused by the message you're sending right now."

Stephanopoulos seemed upset that Carson was telling people to take responsibility for themselves and think for themselves when it comes to guarding against the coronavirus. Instead, Stephanopoulos pressed Carson for government directives.

Throughout the interview, Carson stressed that some people are at higher risk from coronavirus than the general population is, and it is those vulnerable people -- the elderly and those with underlying conditions -- who should take precautions, such as avoiding crowds.

Carson mentioned hand-washing; he noted that some people, even "large numbers" of people, may contract the virus and show few, if any, symptoms; and he indicated that healthy people shouldn't worry so much:

"Again going to a rally, if you're a healthy individual and you're taking the precautions that have been placed out there, there's no reason that you shouldn't go. However, if you belong to one of those categories of high risk, obviously, you need to think twice about that," Carson said.

Stephanopoulos told him:

I'm confused by the message you're sending right now, Dr. Ben Carson, I have to say. We just heard yesterday, the governor of California say it's not a question when schools are going to close -- I mean, if schools are going to close, but when schools are going to close. We have seen companies taking responsibility for their employees and saying, let's not have any unnecessary travel. You seem to be putting all the responsibility back on individuals, saying that they should be thinking for themselves. I'm trying to ask you, what, in the view of the government experts right now, what broader measures need to be taken?

"Those recommendations will be coming out from the CDC," Carson responded. "They're being evaluated on a daily basis. Right now, the recommendation is as I just prescribed -- go about your normal daily activities if you are healthy. If you are not healthy, think very seriously about attending places where there are crowds."

And that's where the interview ended.

To repeat: The anchor of ABC's "This Week" challenged Dr. Ben Carson for "putting all the responsibility back on individuals, saying that they should be thinking for themselves."









