FBN's Bartiromo: Virus Is Top Priority, Not Economy

Fox Business Network host Maria Bartiromo said the top priority of the country regarding the coronavirus crisis should be treating and containing the disease that continues to spread throughout the country.

The anchor added that "the second and third priority" should then be getting the $22 trillion U.S. economy going again.

"I think most people will agree the number one priority is getting our arms around this virus and ensuring that, we’ve got the right treatments in place, the antiviral, and a vaccine at some point," Bartiromo explained in a phone interview with The Hill.

"This is an unprecedented moment, obviously. When would the government ever tell businesses to shut down and tell citizens to stay at home?" she said.

"So you have to wonder what it’s going to take to bring the economy up again, and I think that is an ongoing discussion that we want to have whether or not the economy can be reopened once again," she continued. "But not until we understand fully how we're going to beat this virus. So that is the priority. But I think that a second and third priority should be certainly be the economy."

Early last month, Bartiromo was criticized by left-leaning outlets, including Salon and Raw Story, for her reporting based on White House sources March 5 that the number of cases in the U.S. would reach into "the hundreds of thousands." Both outlets accused Bartiromo of spreading "disinformation."

The current number of U.S. cases is more than 244,000, with the domestic death toll at least 6,200, according to a New York Times tracker.

"At this point I feel like it’s hard to take some of these outlets seriously," Bartiromo said in response. "I’ve been trashed before for seeking the truth," Bartiromo said.