On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic.
At the time, the United States had just 5 confirmed cases of the viral pathogen behind the public health crisis.
For weeks, the Trump administration called the pandemic a hoax perpetrated by Democrats with the only discernible counter measure taken being a travel ban for just China despite the virus having spread far beyond China's borders by then.
Now American conservative news and opinion website The Bulwark says there is a day in the pandemic timeline that changed the trajectory for the United States.
They made their case in a video.
The conservative online publisher was created by Charlie Sykes and Bill Kristol. Both men are prominent conservative political analysts and commentators with careers spanning decades.
The Bulwark—through writers Tim Miller and Barry Rubin—stated:
"February 7 is a day that changed the world. It's a day that defines the Trump administration's failures on COVID-19."
"A day that will shape the campaign around the president's reelection."
They explained:
"On February 7, Dr. Li Wenliang, the Chinese ophthalmologist who sounded the alarm about COVID-19, succumbed to the virus. After sending a WeChat message to a group of other doctors about the virus' spread, he was detained by the Chinese government and forced to sign a statement denouncing his warning as an unfounded and illegal rumor."
"His death following this shameful and destructive treatment by the Chinese government should have been a wake-up call to America's leaders."
"Instead, when Trump was asked about China's handling of the outbreak later that day, the U.S. president delivered Chinese government propaganda. (Again.)"
They added:
"And a few hours after that, Trump's State Department announced that they were sending 17.8 tons of donated medical equipment—supplies that American hospitals would soon desperately need—to China."
"February 7 changed everything."
Reactions to a conservative media video condemning the pandemic response of President Donald Trump—who continues to tout his travel ban against China as definitive proof of his successful handling of the crisis—largely agreed with The Bulwark's assessment.
As stated before, on the date the WHO declared a global pandemic, the United States had just 5 confirmed cases of the viral pathogen.
As of Thursday, April 23, the United States leads the world in infected with a total of 867,771. That is over 32 percent of all cases on Earth.
The death toll in the United States has risen to 48,900 or over 26 percent of all deaths worldwide. The total world population is approximately 7,779,785,216 people. At approximately 330,644,140, the United Sates accounts for just 4 percent of the world's population.
The book Pandemic: The Great Influenza—Since 1918 Tracking Contagions, From Cholera To Ebola Until The Viruses Of Our Days is available here.
