Editorial: US response to virus raises questions

A health worker checks the temperature of women entering the subway. Photo / Getty Images

The ongoing global problem of Covid-19 has taken a dramatic turn with Italy locking down a wide region of the country's north in a desperate bid to contain the spread.

Italy is banning the entry to and exit from Lombardy until early April. Pubs, nightclubs and theatres will be shut. The country is dealing with one of the largest outbreaks outside China, with 5883 cases and 233 deaths.

Worldwide, cases have passed 105,000 with more than 3500 deaths.

In the United States, there has been criticism of a slow rollout of testing and fears political concerns are getting in the way.

Whereas countries such as South Korea, Italy and Britain have tested thousands of people for Covid-19 — an important way of determining the spread, key zones and patterns of the virus — America's testing levels have been low.

South Korea has managed to test at least 140,000 people, which means authorities know where outbreak points are, and they have been able to keep those zones largely contained. Patients have been able to get treatment quickly. The country has had more than 7000 infections and 46 deaths.

In contrast, US figures show 19 deaths and more than 370 infections, with fewer than 2000 people reportedly checked for the virus at federal and state levels. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has tested 1583 people. France has had fewer deaths (16) from more cases (949).

US states have complained of faulty tests and not enough test kits. Medical experts have criticised an early over-focus on travel restrictions rather than adequate preparation for dealing with cases at home. A US official says about 1.1 million tests have been shipped in the past week.

An outbreak doesn't sound so bad if the apparent figures are low. But they are misleading if the extent of the problem isn't known.

Visiting the CDC on Saturday, US President Donald Trump appeared to assess his Administration's actions by the numbers of how many people have officially contracted the virus.

He wanted to keep passengers and crew on a cruise ship off California where 21 cases were discovered on board rather than bring them ashore. He said: "I like the numbers being where they are. I don't need the numbers to double because of one ship that wasn't our fault."

Trump is clearly focused on the political fallout of the coronavirus in election year. It hits healthcare and the economy at a policy level, and character issues of competence, trust and judgment.

Last week he tweeted that there were "only 129 cases" in the US. In February Trump tweeted that the virus was "very much under control in the USA".

At the CDC, wearing his 2020 red campaign cap, the US President talked himself up. "People are really surprised I understand this stuff. Every one of these doctors said, 'How do you know so much about this?' Maybe I have a natural ability." For much of Trump's unconventional reign, people have wondered if an event or disaster would trip him up. It looks as if we will eventually find out.