OK let's put this one to bed.
All the "China virus" and "Wuhan virus" stuff from Trump and Pompeo is a transparent attempt to divert attention from the administration's own failure to prepare.
It's BS.
All the "China virus" and "Wuhan virus" stuff from Trump and Pompeo is a transparent attempt to divert attention from the administration's own failure to prepare.
It's BS.
Did China botch its early handling of this? Yes. Political pressure within China likely delayed the public disclosure of the virus by a few weeks. But still, China advised @CDCgov of the new virus on Jan. 3.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
China was slow to impose control measures for the first half of January; however there was also considerable confusion at the time around the particulars of the virus. US officials at the time sounded positive about China's info sharing, with some caveats.
politico.com/news/2020/01/2…
politico.com/news/2020/01/2…
The next major warning sign came on Jan 20, when China began shutting down Wuhan and then other cities, eventually putting hundreds of millions of people under lockdown. This was no secret.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
On January 30, WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, citing the risk the virus posed to countries beyond China.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
statnews.com/2020/01/30/who…
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
statnews.com/2020/01/30/who…
Through early Feb, reports from Wuhan told of hospitals overrun, health staff worked to the bone. China built a 1000-bed unit just to keep up. They didn't hide this - they live-streamed it.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not. businessinsider.com/video-emergenc…
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not. businessinsider.com/video-emergenc…
We now know as well that US intel reports during this period were projecting the virus could be a major threat to the US.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
In February, several Senators were sufficiently shaken by intel briefings about the virus that they unloaded millions of dollars in stocks.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not. nytimes.com/2020/03/20/us/…
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not. nytimes.com/2020/03/20/us/…
From 16-24 Feb, a WHO mission to China assessed the outbreak response. Their report gave a stark assessment of the risk of the virus, and the urgent, aggressive measures required to stop it.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not. nytimes.com/2020/03/04/hea…
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not. nytimes.com/2020/03/04/hea…
By late Feb, the virus was spreading aggressively in South Korea and had taken down a huge proportion of the Diamond Princess cruise ship. It was clearly moving beyond China.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
On Feb 26, the CDC confirmed the first case of community transmission in the US, in Northern California. Within days, community transmission was confirmed in WA as well.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
nytimes.com/2020/02/26/hea…
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
nytimes.com/2020/02/26/hea…
By the end of February, China's outbreak was in steep decline while the majority of spread was now happening outside of that country.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
By March 1 it was apparent that community spread had been underway in WA since January, and that US disease surveillance had utterly failed to detect it.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
Did this trigger urgent action by the White House? It did not.
Look, this isn't even all of it. There were so many other warning signs. The fact that China didn't manage this effectively or transparently at the outset does not erase the fact that the White House ignore warning sign after warning sign after warning sign.
The Wuhan lockdown began two months ago. As of today, the administration has yet to issue guidance to US hospitals on how to manage Wuhan-like conditions here. That foot-dragging ain't China's fault.
China is not blameless in all this, but they at least acted decisively and effectively once the threat became obvious.
The Trump administration didn't.
Whose fault is that?
The Trump administration didn't.
Whose fault is that?
