Different Perspectives on the Pandemic part 3

written by 20228 Hwang Uikyu

In part three of this five-part series, the Opinion section of the PRESS took an investigated look at how the United States' delayed response to the pandemic early on cost them precious time.

The United States

Currently, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the United States stands at 6.42 million. The reality is that about 40,000 people are confirmed every day, with the death toll standing at 192,000. About a quarter of the world’s total confirmed COVID-19 population is from the states alone. In other words, the United States’ response is important. This nation has more cases than China, the region from which COVID-19 originated from.

The first confirmed case in the U.S. occurred on January 30^th in Seattle, Washington. Due to the lack of initial preventative federal action, it has since become the most confirmed country in the world.

So what did the U.S. initially do in the early stages?

President Donald Trump reassured the public that COVID-19 was a cold-like virus. He explained that the United States was doing well enough to cope with the increased numbers of confirmed cases. The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that people could go out without a mask until March.

People who did not know much about COVID-19’s information followed the president’s explanation and thought everyone else was making a fuss over a simple cold-like virus.

By the end of February, the number of confirmed cases increased slightly. However, the federal government officials were just sitting on the sidelines rather than taking steps to prevent the spread.

On March 13^th, the U.S. President declared a state of national emergency throughout the nation and finally took federal action. Since then, the United States has prevented entry and advised its citizens to social distance and self-isolate.

My Opinion

I think we can see the importance of early response from the United States’ case. If the initial response had been good, it would have stood as a clean country with few confirmed cases like New Zealand. However, the U.S. federal administration’s mistake has left its nation with the largest number of confirmed cases.