Somehow this morphed into something totally off the rails of what's important here. We've got the world in shutdown because of a novel virus.... and experts around the globe are trying to model scenarios to create the best policy responses.
Would certainly be beneficial to have valid data from the actual source of the virus.... instead we've had to wait for reliable data from other countries that later had outbreaks.
Trump is a buffoon and deserves plenty of scorn for his public comments, but it's not like Europe has done much better with this.
Whether the data was accurate or inaccurate has little bearing on how it was handled in the States. Its was just a shiny object thrown in your direction. Democrats have had this done to them many times by Trump in the past three years. Now its in your shoe.
For all those who think Trump did enough? This is what the government did here just in the month f January and then we have some basis of comparison and the ability to judge:
2020 coronavirus pandemic in Singapore
Preventive measures
January 2020
- 2 January: The Ministry of Health (MOH) issued a health advisory and implemented temperature checks for passengers arriving in Changi Airport from Wuhan the following day.[188]
- 20 January: Temperature screening at Changi Airport was extended to all travellers coming from China. In addition, individuals with pneumonia who had travelled to Wuhan within 14 days before the onset of symptoms were isolated in hospital.[189][190]
- 22 January: Quarantine measures were extended to travellers who arrived from China and displayed symptoms.[191] After three more suspected cases were detected, a multi-ministry taskforce was convened to tackle the issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The MOH advised against non-essential trips to Wuhan[5] and expanded the travel advisory the following day to all of Hubei.[192] MINDEF issued two medical advisories to service personnel.[193]
- 24 January: With the first confirmed local case, border control measures were enhanced and extended to land and sea checkpoints with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore starting temperature checks from noon of that day.[194][195] In addition, schools asked parents to declare their travel plans and monitor their children's health.[196][197]
- Between 23 and 26 January: Scoot cancelled flights to Wuhan over the virus pandemic, after a lockdown was imposed.[198] The suspension was later extended to 29 March.[199]
- 24 January:
- Holiday chalets were being prepared as quarantine centres. Some of these chalets had served as quarantine centres in previous outbreaks, such as the 2003 SARS outbreak and 2009 flu pandemic.[200] Measures such as temperature screening and quarantine facilities were put in place at foreign worker dormitories.[201] Transportation companies like ComfortDelGro, SMRT and private hire operators have since taken more precautions against the virus with hand saniters, disinfectants and masks provided. Advisories were also distributed.[202]
- On the same day, a Scoot flight was delayed in Hangzhou for six hours after one passenger was sent for further testing, causing passengers and crew to be quarantined.[203] The flight returned with Singaporeans three days later.[204]
- 25 January: MOH imposed a visitor limit of two per patient in hospitals to slow the spread of the virus. Some hospitals have discouraged children from visiting.[205]
- 27 January:
- Singaporeans were advised to avoid non-essential travel to China.[206] Temperature screening at Changi Airport was also expanded to all incoming flights from the next day, with extra scrutiny on flights from China and passengers from Hubei. In addition, people returning from China were asked to fill health and travel declarations and monitor their health with regular temperature checks for two weeks.[207][208] A 14-day leave of absence (LOA) was imposed on students and teachers as well as workers who work with vulnerable populations, such as pre-schoolers, the elderly and the sick, returning from mainland China. Students were asked to do home-based learning instead.[206][209][210] In addition to the chalets, university hostels at National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, and Singapore Management University were prepared as quarantine facilities.[211] Other measures include expanded communication channels, cleaning protocols and disinfection of premises after incidents.[212]
- Taxi companies like ComfortDelGro, SMRT, Premier Taxi and Trans-Cab announced a waiver of cab rental fees should any driver get quarantined.[213]
- The government clamped down on false statements and rumours,[214] with the first being a HardwareZone forum receiving a Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) notice on a false claim that one man had died due to the virus. The post is deleted a day before the notice is issued.[215]
- 28 January:
- Enhanced quarantine measures were announced for those returning from Hubei and those of a higher risk, coming after the detection of seven cases at that point. In addition, travellers from Hubei were denied entry from noon of 29 January. All forms of visas for Hubei travellers were suspended immediately.[216][217] A $100 allowance per day will be provided to those self-employed under quarantine orders, with home quarantine options available. Hospital bills will be paid by MOH for all suspected and confirmed cases of the virus as the illness is caused by an emerging disease.[218] With the restrictions in place, the Ministry of Manpower started rejecting new applications for workers from Hubei, with existing applications unaffected.[219] In a joint media statement by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), National Service (NS) pre-enlistees who had travelled to China and been due for enlistment were given a mandatory leave of absence of up to 14 days.[220][221]
- Facebook is issued a correction notice over a post falsely claiming the closure of Woodlands station due to the virus.[222]
- 29 January: Singapore Airlines announced a suspension of layovers from 30 January for cabin crew and pilots to Beijing and Shanghai, in a move to protect the safety of all crew. Jetstar Asia will suspend flights to Hefei, Guiyang and Xuzhou in China from 30 January until 31 March, after which the suspension will be reviewed.[223] In addition, Outward Bound Singapore camps in Pulau Ubin have been designated quarantine facilities.[224]
- 31 January: Singapore announced that all new visitors with recent travel history to mainland China within the last 14 days will not be allowed entry into Singapore, or to transit through Singapore. It took effect on 1 February at 2359 hours.[225]
I confess that I have never even heard of the term 'social distancing' until a few weeks ago. But this was a term the folks here had used in their pandemic management strategic plans (online) written in 2014.
We can bitch about everyone who did this or that like the Beijing Gov't -- and to be pedantic it was the Wuhan local government.
But ultimately, you focus on what you can control and not something you have zero control over (like the Wuhan city government's ineptitude) if we want to remain healthy both physically and mentally.
What do we have control over in this scenario? Hmmm, let me think...