The United States is now the epicentre of the Coronavirus disease. With over 435,160 cases and 14,797 deaths, the country is facing one of the worst crises in recorded history. The world’s most powerful nation, with its economic might and the world’s most advanced intelligence gathering tools, could not help stop the spread of this disease.
Why? The answer is simple: Bad Governance.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has repeatedly ignored warnings issued by America’s intelligence agencies, epidemiologists, virologists and White House advisors, on the possible outbreak of a deadly infectious disease. By doing so, he has put his country – and his countrymen – in harm’s way.
To figure out the enormity of the harm done to the country by Trump let us look at an abridged timeline:
The Early Years: Warnings Ignored
2017: Trump administrations officials are briefed on an intelligence document titled “Playbook for Early Response to High-Consequence Emerging Infectious Disease Threats and Biological Incidents.” The administration literally had an actual playbook for what to do in the early stages of a pandemic. Among the playbook’s protocols:
- Begin early procurement of PPE materials for healthcare workers as soon as the threat is identified.
- Concentrate on “early diagnostic capacity”— which is government-speak for have a mountain of tests on-hand so that you can monitor the spread of the disease.
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