Vice President Mike Pence is offering an upbeat assessment of the status of the coronavirus in the U.S., despite a surge in cases, hospitalizations and more than a quarter of a million deaths. Pence spoke in the White House briefing room Thursday, his first appearance at the White House podium in many weeks as the head of the White House coronavirus task force. The vice president told reporters President Donald Trump directed that Thursday's briefing be held. Trump, himself, has been silent on the recent spread of the virus after falsely saying during the campaign that "we are rounding the turn" and that the virus would be little discussed after the Nov. 3 election. Pence said the administrations prayers "are with all of those families that have been impacted by the coronavirus." Pence said despite the recent nationwide surge in cases, America "has never been more prepared to combat this virus than we are today." Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake