How did a novel coronavirus get into the White House?
US President Donald trump said at the White House on May 11 that all personnel traveling to and from the west wing of the White House are required to wear face masks.The White House has changed testing from weekly to daily because of novel coronavirus infections confirmed by officials and secret service agents.
Judging from the recent actions of the White House, the outbreak inside China has forced people to strengthen the prevention and control.So how did a novel coronavirus get into the White House?
“Dare” to “face” the epidemic: don’t wear a mask anyway
In fact, the United States, like many western countries, believed that masks should be worn only after symptoms appear.It was not until early April, when more than 300,000 cases of novel coronavirus were confirmed in the United States, that the centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) announced a new protocol that advises people to wear masks in public.However, the CDC’s less timely “recommendation” was downgraded by President trump to “voluntary” at an April 3 briefing by the White House task force on the epidemic.
In response to questions from at least two reporters at the news conference, Mr. Trump repeatedly said he would not wear a mask.The reason: “I can’t imagine sitting behind a desk and wearing a mask to greet all kinds of national leaders.”
How did a novel coronavirus get into the White House?
The White House leadership is playing it safe
In fact, events at the White House have continued as usual since the centers for disease control and prevention issued its mask recommendations on April 3.From the President to the vice President, no one wore a mask, whether it was to meet with medical workers, hold meetings with generals or attend memorial ceremonies.
Donald trump has been criticized in the us media for not wearing a face mask in front of a group of veterans in their 90s on the anniversary of victory day.But Mr Trump said he was far from them and that “the wind is not blowing in [the veterans’] direction”.”You care about veterans, why don’t you care about me?” he joked to reporters.
When vice President mike pence visited a Minnesota hospital in late April, he did not wear a mask, even though it was specifically mentioned in hospital policy.”I don’t have a novel coronavirus with me,” he explained in order to communicate better. “I thought it was a rare opportunity to be here, and I wanted to talk to these researchers and these wonderful health workers, look them in the eye and say thank you.”
How did a novel coronavirus get into the White House?
Critics don’t buy the explanation: the mask doesn’t cover the eyes, and wearing it doesn’t prevent pence from looking the staff in the eye and saying thank you. It’s just an excuse for the White House leadership not to wear it.
Loose the economy?The White House is caught in a dilemma about restarting the economy
By early may, the administration had shelved economic rebooting guidelines prepared by the U.S. centers for disease control and prevention for a White House working group on the epidemic.
The 17-page guidelines specify how a range of places, including schools and public transport, should be reopened and protected.A number of American public health experts have said that this approach is “not only helpful, it is essential.”
But on May 8th, when Mr Trump was asked why he had not issued the guidelines, he threw the dice again: “I’m counting on the governors to reboot. They’re the ones who make the decisions.”
According to us media analysis, the White House has been trying to give the impression that the covid-19 outbreak is under control as it has been talking about restarting the economy since the end of march.On the surface, the White House had done little to prevent the disease, including wearing masks and keeping a safe distance.As a matter of policy, it is necessary to avoid issuing the latest economic restart guidelines from the us centers for disease control and prevention, because it may be difficult for any region to truly meet the standards of economic restart if the guidelines are followed.
Deliberately weakening the epidemic prevention and control undoubtedly gave the virus a chance to enter the White House;Ignoring the new guidelines and pushing for an economic reboot also poses a dilemma for the White House
How do you keep telling people that you can restart the economy now when you have covid-19 in the White House?
How do you tell people that the epidemic in the United States is under control when the White House suddenly starts requiring masks?
How did a novel coronavirus get into the White House?
A survey by the pew research center between April 29 and May 5 found that 68 percent of americans are still anxious about the economy restarting too soon.Novel coronavirus slipped into the White House when the us government was too lax in its anti-epidemic work to play down the outbreak.
Anthony fauci, director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases and a key member of the White House coronavirus response task force, said at a senate hearing Tuesday that the United States has not fully contained the outbreak.As a result, the dow Jones industrial average fell by more than 450 points on the same day, reflecting the widespread concern among americans about the epidemic.
But now that the White House has finally decided to start wearing masks, it’s a wake-up call to the fact that the epidemic has been so loose for so long.