Opinion: United States Hopeless And Helpless Over Corona Virus Pandemic

I watched a governor of one of the states in the US discuss the coronavirus “pandemic” on CNN last night.

I said “pandemic”, because that’s what it already looks like in the US, and the governor in question admitted as much.

As at the time the discussion was going on, the US had already recorded 27 deaths and over 850 confirmed cases.

I looked at the man and even his interviewer, and I could see hopelessness and despondency.

He lamented that they were not testing enough people to determine the actual number of confirmed cases. He pointed at China, and marveled at China’s and even South Korea’s ability to carry out 10,000 tests in a day, while all the US had been able to do was carry out a total of only 5,000 tests since the outbreak, with hospitals not meeting up demands. He lamented that they were only playing catch up with the virus, and that it was not good for the US.

Responding to his interviewer, he informed that the actual problem was not even paucity of test kits, but rather personnel to do the tests. He informed that initially, the centre for decease control had insisted that they would be the only ones to carry out the tests, but that when cases continued to grow, the CDC allowed some government hospitals to join in the tests, and later, also allowed some private hospitals to come in to help. Still America is overwhelmed already, and plays only catch-up.

You could see that the interviewer was visibly shaken; the fear in his eyes was clear, and the governor didn’t attempt to allay his fears nor the fears millions of viewers that would be watching in their homes. It was a hopeless situation, and the way he intermittently shook his head involuntarily and looked morose said it all.

I was gripped with fear for America, and for humanity at large.

I couldn’t hold my tears again when he discussed the fate of the thousands of senior citizens in the elderly homes, many of which are scattered in his state. There were already 9 deaths in such homes in his state.

When the interviewer reminded him that the elderly citizens in those homes are the most vulnerable category, and wanted to know the steps his government and the American government were taking to protect them, the governor, with a hint of hopelessness and helplessness simply said, “THAT IS MY DILEMMA! THAT IS MY DILEMMA!”

I cried!

Where is Mr Trump and his coronavirus hoax? How much straight face can he still afford to keep in the face of the present reality?

America fears that there is no knowing how badly the nation has been infected as its doctors are only able to test few cases per day.

Charles Kaye Okoye

VTMONEY

First Bank