Slow to respond
Dear editor:
Marc Thiessen, in his March 20 column, states that the Chinese regime "cared more about suppressing information than suppressing a virus." He adds that as late as Jan. 15 the head of China's Center for Disease Control declared on state TV that " the risk of human-to-human transmission is low," but on Jan. 18 the president allowed a Lunar New Year banquet to go forward in Wuhan where tens of thousands shared food. It was not until Jan. 23, he adds, that the government enacted a quarantine.
I have no quarrel with this information. I agree that there is and has been for years suppression of real news in China. However, our own government was very slow to respond when medical personnel was sending strong alarms about COVID-19 and its extent. The administration decided not to use a WHO test already in good use. The president wanted an American test, which took weeks to develop, and then it proved faulty, causing weeks of amending. Also, the guidelines for testing were very narrow, instructing hospitals and doctors to screen only those with respiratory symptoms and those who had traveled in China recently. Worst of all, the administration did not make sure that hospitals had sufficient resources. On Feb. 25, the president told reporters with him in India that the virus was "very well under control in our country." Just hours later, federal health authorities warned that the spread was inevitable. He finally appointed a well-qualified doctor and retired Army colonel to be in charge of medical efforts. However, the president then ordered all public communications to go through Pence, his appointed czar. So we share blame in our great country for the very slow response to this terrible virus here. Democratic government can be just as remiss as. Communist government for creating horrible problems. Motives may vary but results are very similar.
I encourage everyone to heed the words of an American surviving in Italy: Express peace, not panic; faith not fear. And I would add, follow common-sense guidelines and pray a lot.
John W. "Doc" Crawford
Hot Springs
Editorial on 03/30/2020