#coronavirus is a story of squandered time. This story here is perfect example. Our planning already had in place protections for first responders. And we had time. China gave us time. And we squandered it, failing to protect because there was no one to demand it or execute it.1/
Lost, squandered time will be how history writes about our preparedness. That is why there is this uptick in panic and surprise. The WH continued to hope and insist that China would succeed at containment. That was plan A. But we have a plan B for a reason. 2/
How do I know it was part of plan? Because we’ve done this before. The virus is new; pandemic preparedness is not. We knew border agents and other first responders would need additional protections; same true for public health workers. (See this thread on the plan ⬇️). 3/
It was like we were watching a days away hurricane form into a category 5 and our only plan was to hope it would lose steam. Sure it could. That would be great. But no one would tolerate the failure of government to plan for the equal likelihood it would hit shore. #coronavirus
