Global Observation丨The number of confirmed diagnoses has crossed the 8 million mark, and the United States’ epidemic prevention and control is “covered”
Relevant data shows that it took only 21 days for the cumulative number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the United States to exceed 7 million on September 25 to 8 million on October 16, which was faster than the 25 days that took 6 million to 7 million.
American epidemiologists said that many parts of the United States have ushered in a “surge wave” of cases in autumn and winter, and the pressure on epidemic prevention and control has increased sharply. Experts point out that politics over science has allowed the United States to “go further and further down the wrong path.”
Fauci: Can’t enter autumn and winter with such a high infection base
Recently, as the number of confirmed cases in the Midwest, Northeast and other places continues to rise, the situation of the new crown pneumonia in the United States has become more severe.
△ “New York Times” reported: The number of new cases in a single day in the United States exceeded the record of 70,000 for the first time since July
According to a report from the “New York Times” on the 17th local time, on the 16th local time, there were 70,451 new confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the United States, a record high since July 24, with 909 new deaths. At the same time, on the 16th, at least nine states, including Wyoming, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, set a record for the number of new confirmed cases in a single day.
△ Screenshot of the U.S. epidemic tracking on the New York Times website
In addition to the newly confirmed cases, the sharp increase in hospitalized cases and the high infection rate on campus also raise concerns.
Many health experts pointed out that after the two peaks of the epidemic in the spring and summer this year, the United States has actually ushered in the third peak of the epidemic . Some people also wonder whether the first wave of epidemics in the United States has ended, because the newly confirmed cases in the 50 states of the United States have never been stably suppressed to the basic epidemiological line.
As the weather gets colder, outdoor activities will be transferred indoors, which makes many experts worry that the risk of virus infection will greatly increase. Anthony Fauci, a top American infectious disease expert, recently warned: “You cannot enter the cold autumn and winter with such a high community infection base.”
△Fauci said in an interview with the US Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC): In the fall, we are in a bad situation
Anthony Fauci
■Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in the positive rate of new coronavirus testing in many states in the Midwest, which means more confirmed cases, hospitalized cases, and ultimately more deaths.
■We cannot enter the cold autumn and winter with the number of 40,000 to 50,000 new cases per day, because autumn and winter will undoubtedly accelerate the spread of respiratory diseases. This is a problem we have been worried about. We must reverse this situation.
The worst situation seems to have not yet come. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, by November, the number of deaths from new coronary pneumonia in the United States may exceed 240,000. The model of the Institute of Health Indicators and Evaluation of the University of Washington in the United States shows that by February 1 next year, the number of deaths in the United States will exceed 390,000, almost twice the current number.
The White House pretends to be an expert in the face of the epidemic
Faced with the severe situation of the epidemic, President Trump, the top leader of the United States, still disapproves, insisting that the United States is at an inflection point of the epidemic and that the new crown virus “will eventually disappear.” Even though he was hospitalized for being infected with the new crown virus earlier this month, Trump still refused to call on everyone to wear masks, saying that it depends on the situation.
△CNN reported that US President Trump threw masks to the crowd at a campaign rally in Sanford, Florida on the 12th. Many of the people attending the rally that day did not wear masks.
Trump also stated that he does not support local governments to adopt stricter prevention and control measures. At the same time, the White House recently even revisited the so-called “herd immunity” strategy, with the intention of accelerating the resumption of work and production.
As President, Trump’s actions have affected many Americans’ views on the new crown virus to a certain extent. The “New York Times” recently published a review article pointed out that in the face of the epidemic, the United States has not united to meet the challenge. With the exception of medical workers, the public’s willingness to act in unity and sacrifice is very small, even short-lived.
A few days ago, Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey in the United States, warned the American people about how important scientific epidemic prevention is.
△ On September 26, local time, Chris Christie did not wear a mask when attending the nomination event for the justices in the Rose Garden of the White House. Image source: Visual China
Christie admitted in the media that because he followed the White House’s epidemic prevention measures, he did not wear a mask when attending the judge nomination event held in the Rose Garden of the White House on September 26. As a result, he contracted the new crown virus.
△Christie: I was so wrong that I didn’t wear a mask in the White House (screenshot of CNN report)
Chris Christie
■ I mistakenly believed that everyone I met in the White House had been tested for the new coronavirus in advance. This makes me mistakenly believe that the White House is safe, and that it is a mistake to trust the White House.
■ Because I have asthma, for the past seven months, I have insisted on wearing a mask, washing my hands frequently, and maintaining social distance (unexpectedly, I was infected in the White House).
Attacks on scientists, White House politics overtake science
The U.S. government’s neglect and poor response to the epidemic continues to draw severe domestic criticism.
Bill Gates, co-chairman of the US Gates Foundation , said in an interview with US Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) recently that the US government has done the worst in many aspects of the epidemic response, including virus testing, Public health policy and so on. The US government’s efforts to suppress health experts surprised him even more.
△Bill Gates criticizes the US response to the epidemic: most governments listen to the views of scientists (CNBC report screenshot)
Bill Gates
■ The governments of most countries follow the advice of scientists and they will not suppress or attack scientists. Each state in the United States is responding to the epidemic on its own. The CDC should have given advice, but the U.S. government refused to let them speak out. Now the top American scientists are also under attack.
■ If the US government is willing to admit that it has not done well and give a clear policy, there is still a chance. But I don’t see any such signs now. Our virus test results are slower than other countries, which surprised me.
Fauci , a top infectious disease expert in the United States , emphasized that when making any policy decisions related to the prevention and control of the epidemic, we must strictly abide by science and must not compromise on this issue. He pointed out that on the issue of epidemic prevention and control, the United States has never achieved a national game. The inaction of the federal government has led to the failure to introduce effective prevention and control measures at the national level, which has caused the current terrible situation in the United States.
Anthony Fauci
■ The country can be imagined as a huge forest. When one part of the forest catches fire, the fire may also spread to other areas. Therefore, if you want to control the epidemic, you also need to keep in step with the ultimate goal of controlling the epidemic. Hard work.
■ I thought we could do it, but unfortunately, we could not.
The example of “science” being constantly covered by “politics” has become the subject of daily reports by mainstream American media.
△ “New York Times” report screenshot
The New York Times reported that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drafted a rule in September requiring all passengers and flight attendants to wear masks on public and commercial vehicles in the United States. Because many studies have proven that wearing a mask is the simplest and most effective public health method to combat new coronary pneumonia. But as a result, this draft rule was rejected by the White House.
The White House has also been questioned for interfering with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s epidemic information.
The Associated Press recently revealed a “severe report” that the Trump administration had planted two “political informants” at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to monitor its director Redfield and other scientists and control the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Epidemic information released.
△ Screenshot of Associated Press report: The White House arranges “politicians” to control information at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Jason Dylan, Associated Press reporter
■ The Trump administration has adopted extraordinary measures to control the CDC’s information release. One of the methods is to place two Republican’secrets’ in the agency to pay close attention to the agency’s information and agency. A public statement by the director, Dr. Robert Redfield.
Experts generally believe that since the beginning of the epidemic, the US government has placed politics above science, tried to play down the threat of the epidemic at multiple levels, and dragged the United States into the abyss of the epidemic step by step.
Guo Xiangang , a researcher at the China Institute of International Studies, pointed out that out of political considerations, the U.S. government has not done its utmost to strictly implement epidemic prevention measures, resulting in repeated domestic epidemics and difficult economic restart.
Guo Xiangang
■ Since this year is the U.S. election year, the U.S. government is worried that if the epidemic is described as serious and severe measures are taken, and most economic activities cease, U.S. economic data will decline. This is detrimental to the U.S. government’s re-election goals. Therefore, it played down the epidemic and even concealed the facts in order to improve the election situation, which led to repeated epidemics in the United States.
■ Today, the US government has not learned from it. It still plays down the epidemic, conceals the truth, does not listen carefully to the opinions of scientists, and formulates measures to combat the epidemic based on the interests of partisan politics.
