Source: Global Information +
From Los Angeles County to become the first county in the United States to more than 1 million confirmed cases of new coronavirus pneumonia, to California to become the first state in the United States to more than 3 million cases, to the total number of cases in the United States exceeded 24 million... Within a few days, the record-breaking epidemic data of one county, one state, and one country summarized the United States' anti-epidemic achievements in this year in a cruel way.
There are even more cruel facts: the latest statistics show that as of 14:21 Eastern Time on the 19th (3:21 am Beijing time on the 20th), the number of deaths from new coronavirus pneumonia in the United States has exceeded 400,000!
△National Public Radio (NPR) report screenshot
No matter what indicator is measured, the severity of the epidemic in the United States ranks first in the world. What kind of mistake has brought this country with the most comprehensive strength in the world to this point?
"We originally had a chance"
" New York Times " recently published a long article under the title "How the United States Laid its own failure" pointed out that almost throughout the entire pandemic, political polarization and exclusion of science have greatly hindered the United States' ability to prevent and control the epidemic, and the most obvious and serious harm was caused by White House .
△The New York Times report screenshot
The New York Times reporter interviewed hundreds of health, politicians and community leaders across the United States, and reviewed some emails and government records, and summarized the root causes of the United States' failure in fighting the epidemic through sorting out the spring, summer, autumn and winter experiences of the United States' epidemic.
Spring: Hasteful restart missed the opportunity
Public health experts believe that most of the cases in the United States can be traced back to the turning point in April last year. Before that, the first epidemic situation in the northeastern region such as New York State caused most states to implement stay-at-home orders. If virus testing and contact tracing are strengthened at that time and work and school suspensions will be continued, there will be a full opportunity to prevent the spread of the epidemic. But the White House publicly encouraged states to restart their economies in mid-April, causing the epidemic to rekindle and worsen.
△The New York Times report screenshot
The most obvious consequences of restarting are Texas. After a full restart in April, the state's daily increase in cases surged 10 times from late May to late July, from about 1,000 to 10,000. In the words of Dr. Jose Vosquez, director of the Starr County Health Department in Texas, the outbreak developed at that time "like wildfires in bushes."
△New York Times report screenshot
As the epidemic continues to worsen, Texas eventually became the second state in the United States to exceed one million cases after California.
Summer: Science goes aside all over
This is also a period when science is marginalized by governments at all levels in the United States, and it directly triggered the largest wave of public health officials resigning in U.S. history. Since the outbreak of the epidemic in the United States, hundreds of state and local health officials have been fired or voluntarily resigned.
△The New York Times report screenshot
Florida 's anti-epidemic performance is the most typical anti-scientific example at the time. Florida Governor DeSantis, a close political ally of President Trump , takes the professional opinions of scientists as a warning, and instead asks Atlas, the White House "pseudo-expert" who advocates fallacies such as "herd immunity". It was they who jointly promoted schools to resume face-to-face teaching in August, which eventually made Florida the third state in the United States to exceed one million cases.
△The New York Times report screenshot
Fall: Masks continue to be ignored
Although scientific evidence fully shows that masks can help effectively prevent the epidemic, until last fall, at least 26 states still boycotted masks and other epidemic prevention suggestions.
△The New York Times report screenshot
In this regard, South Dakota is the most representative. Although it was already one of the highest mortality rates in the United States at the time, Gov. Christie Nome still publicly devalued the effectiveness of masks. Even more notable is the state's Sturgis International Motorcycle Conference last summer, where hundreds of thousands of mask-free participants ended up creating the largest super-spread incident in the United States to date.
△The New York Times report screenshot
Especially ironic is that Trump himself was also diagnosed with the new coronavirus in the fall, but he still insisted that the epidemic in the United States is at a "turning point" and that this virus will "disappear" soon.
△The New York Times report screenshot
Winter: The number of deaths hit a record
At this time, after nearly a year of political differences and uncontrolled spread of the virus, almost all regions of the United States have been affected. Taking the most severe epidemic , California , as an example, the largest state in the United States, the first population in the United States, first implemented a stay-at-home order last spring and once controlled the epidemic; but with the arrival of winter, it once again took a detour.
△The New York Times report screenshot
At that time, the US media exposed how California Governor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Mayor London Bred attended a birthday party at a French restaurant in Napa Valley , criticizing them for "speaking one thing and doing another."
△The Washington Post report screenshot
. In the Southern California area, there are many people who oppose mask orders and stay-at-home orders. Some health officials pointed out that those who relaxed their guard during Thanksgiving brought the state's epidemic to another turning point.
△The New York Times report screenshot
"As the calendar opens a new page..."
The U.S. population accounts for only 4% of the world, but the number of deaths from COVID-19 accounts for 20% of the world. In the words of the New York Times article, "The United States, which stands out in wealth, technology and national strength, has now become the country with the most densely affected and dead."
article pointed out that the epidemic has brought major challenges to the United States, including the creation of record unemployment rates, but without the White House's national strategy, no state could have completely stopped the spread of the epidemic. "There is a gap between serious and unserious countries in taking restrictive measures."
△The New York Times report screenshot
The article finally reminded with concern that the five days with the highest number of deaths in a single day in January this year. "As the calendar turns a new page, the virus is becoming more terrifying than ever."
△The New York Times report screenshot
This is indeed the case. According to CNN, some studies estimate that the number of infections in the United States is actually four times higher than reported, and about 35% of the deaths may not be reported.
△CNN report screenshot
At the same time, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that the mutated new coronavirus may become the main virus spreading in the United States by March this year.
△Screenshot of the report of the US "Star News" website
Judging from the various current chaos in the United States in fighting the epidemic, the mistakes that have been made for a year have not been fundamentally corrected, and various anti-epidemic disputes marked by political lines are still continuing. In the words of Dr. Marisa, a public health expert at the University of South Florida, it was the White House at the beginning, and later the leadership mistakes of states, which led to polarization in the entire epidemic response and extended the life span of the virus. "These costs indicate the huge failure of the US government at all levels."
△The New York Times report screenshot
