razz
5-8-20, 8:41am
While there have been many allegations about the virus and who is responsible for the ultimate cost of resolving the crisis regardless of which country is being considered, I have been watching for a simple straight forward summary of basic facts.
Western countries own the responsibility for their response. https://lfpress.com/opinion/columnists/dyer-western-countries-not-china-caused-biggest-delay-in-covid-19-response/
"But on Jan. 9, the first person in Wuhan died of what we now call COVID-19. On the same day, the World Health Organization (which Trump now vilifies as “China’s public relations agency”) announced China had reported the emergence of a new and dangerous coronavirus.
Only two days later, Chinese scientists published the full genetic sequence of COVID-19 so that researchers everywhere could start working on potential treatments and vaccines...
Other East Asian countries that had experience of SARS understood the seriousness of the WHO warning and promptly began diligent testing, tracing and isolation of infected persons. As a result, they never had to go into lockdown (South Korea has had 250 deaths; Taiwan had six). China did a partial lockdown, but is now up and running again...
But then the big delay happened, and it had nothing to do with China. Western countries did nothing serious about the pandemic for an astonishing two months after that WHO report.
Trump boasts he banned travel from China to the U.S. early, but the U.S. was the 41st country to declare such a ban, on Feb. 2. And it was a very leaky ban, affecting only non-U.S. citizens. Another 40,000 U.S. citizens and permanent residents flew in from China during the next two months, many not being checked for coronavirus at all...
[I suspect this is true of most western countries]
Apart from Italy locking down some municipalities in the country’s badly hit north in late February, no European country went into national lockdown until March 9. The United Kingdom waited a further two weeks, until March 24. The United States never did a national lockdown, but most states had social distancing policies in place by early April.
Those even longer delays explain why the U.K. and the U.S. are on track to be the two countries with the highest COVID-19 death rates.
But why did they all wait so long? Why weren’t they at least setting up comprehensive testing, tracing and contacting systems and making more ventilators and protective clothing back in January? Did they think they were exempt?"
Looking ahead, what steps should western countries take now to prepare for the future pandemics based on their response to Covid 19?
As a (now retired) health care provider, I have followed this standard model of care: assess, plan, implement and evaluate. That is why I post this thread.
Western countries own the responsibility for their response. https://lfpress.com/opinion/columnists/dyer-western-countries-not-china-caused-biggest-delay-in-covid-19-response/
"But on Jan. 9, the first person in Wuhan died of what we now call COVID-19. On the same day, the World Health Organization (which Trump now vilifies as “China’s public relations agency”) announced China had reported the emergence of a new and dangerous coronavirus.
Only two days later, Chinese scientists published the full genetic sequence of COVID-19 so that researchers everywhere could start working on potential treatments and vaccines...
Other East Asian countries that had experience of SARS understood the seriousness of the WHO warning and promptly began diligent testing, tracing and isolation of infected persons. As a result, they never had to go into lockdown (South Korea has had 250 deaths; Taiwan had six). China did a partial lockdown, but is now up and running again...
But then the big delay happened, and it had nothing to do with China. Western countries did nothing serious about the pandemic for an astonishing two months after that WHO report.
Trump boasts he banned travel from China to the U.S. early, but the U.S. was the 41st country to declare such a ban, on Feb. 2. And it was a very leaky ban, affecting only non-U.S. citizens. Another 40,000 U.S. citizens and permanent residents flew in from China during the next two months, many not being checked for coronavirus at all...
[I suspect this is true of most western countries]
Apart from Italy locking down some municipalities in the country’s badly hit north in late February, no European country went into national lockdown until March 9. The United Kingdom waited a further two weeks, until March 24. The United States never did a national lockdown, but most states had social distancing policies in place by early April.
Those even longer delays explain why the U.K. and the U.S. are on track to be the two countries with the highest COVID-19 death rates.
But why did they all wait so long? Why weren’t they at least setting up comprehensive testing, tracing and contacting systems and making more ventilators and protective clothing back in January? Did they think they were exempt?"
Looking ahead, what steps should western countries take now to prepare for the future pandemics based on their response to Covid 19?
As a (now retired) health care provider, I have followed this standard model of care: assess, plan, implement and evaluate. That is why I post this thread.