(The most Charitable way of looking at the Covid-19 Response in the USA)

It has been in the news recently from the people at the very top of the USA administration that the Covid-19 virus was circulating for many months in China before it was reported - apparently too late for the rest of the world to save itself the huge losses we see now. This is supposedly the basis for all sorts of claims against China.

If the virus was indeed circulation 'months' (how many months before?) in China before they reported it and its characteristics to the WHO, it brings up the following points and questions.

1) there was no restriction in travel from anywhere in China to anywhere in the rest of the world during the initial months of its purported spread

2) there was no restriction in Chinese meeting and interacting with foreigners

3) there would have been a lot of cases of people who carried this virus to Europe, the USA and Australia or anywhere, including India, Iran *within a few days* of its spread in China (surely it was not spreading only among Chinese).

4) So there would have been a parallel spread and number of deaths in the USA, Europe and the rest of the world lagging behind China by just a few days, max 14 days, not by months as we observed, first in Europe, then in the USA??

5) What does that say about the ability of the USA, Europe and other *advanced countries* in detecting and reporting such an unusual virus spreading among its population?? Apparently, any reasonably competent clinician in an advanced country can identify a new, previously unknown threat fairly quickly, in a matter of days and flag it.

6) What does that say about the expectation of China's ability to report with certainty, about a new virus found in the country?

7) Why did President Trump downplay the seriousness of the virus in February, long after they already knew China had to lockdown Wuhan and because of a outbreak of an unknown virus? Did it not occur to the USA to test any of its returned visitors from China or Europe - Italy in particular ?

8) Could the USA or not detect or figure out the serious nature of the virus among anyone in its population who must have visited China and brought back the virus - many of them would have been older people with co-morbidities surely?? Even if the numbers were smaller than in China? Aren't these countries supposedly always alert and prepared for advanced biological warfare?? Would the USA not be prepared to identify, respond and prepare to deal with any such dangerous virus coming from anywhere in the world? Even more so from that region of Asia from where apparently so many virus have spread out in the past?

Things don't seem to add up according to the premise suggested that the virus was spreading around only in China, among only Chinese for months before it spread to the rest of the world. The response of the USA in protecting its citizens from huge losses of life and economy seems to be worse than much poorer countries so far. This can be viewed as gross incompetence when viewed most charitably...

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