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BBC: Coronavirus: US to halt funding to WHO, says Trump
US President Donald Trump has said he is going to halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) because it has "failed in its basic duty" in its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
[...] Mr Trump has been under fire for his own handling of the pandemic.
He has sought to deflect persistent criticism that he acted too slowly to stop the virus's spread by pointing to his decision in late January to place restrictions on travel from China.
[...] The US is the global health body's largest single funder and gave it more than $400m in 2019.
A decision on whether the US resumes funding will be made after the review, which Mr Trump said would last 60 to 90 days.
[...] China gave about $86m in 2018-19; UK gives most of any country apart from the US
[...] The organisation launched an appeal in March for $675m to help fight the pandemic and is reported to be planning a fresh appeal for at least $1bn.
Reuters: Trump halts World Health Organization funding amid coronavirus pandemic
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would halt funding to the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic while his administration reviews its response to the global crisis.
Trump told a White House news conference the WHO had “failed in its basic duty and it must be held accountable.” He said the group had promoted China’s “disinformation” about the virus that likely led to a wider outbreak of the virus than otherwise would have occurred.
[...] The hold on funding was expected. Trump has been increasingly critical of the organization as the global health crisis has continued, and he has reacted angrily to criticism of his administration’s response.
[...] U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday it was “not the time” to reduce resources for the body.
“Now is the time for unity and for the international community to work together in solidarity to stop this virus and its shattering consequences,” he said.
American Medical Association President Dr. Patrice Harris called it “a dangerous step in the wrong direction that will not make defeating COVID-19 easier” and urged Trump to reconsider.
[...] The Republican president recently accused the WHO of being too lenient with China in the earliest days of the crisis, despite having himself praised China in January for its response and transparency.
Trump has made frequent use of scapegoats during his short political career. He often lashes out at the media, Democrats, or others when he feels attacked or under pressure.
The Guardian: Trump turns against WHO to mask his own stark failings on Covid-19 crisis
Donald Trump’s declared suspension of funding of the World Health Organisation in the midst of a pandemic is confirmation – if any were needed – that he is in search of scapegoats for his administration’s much delayed and chaotic response to the crisis.
The US is the WHO’s biggest donor, with funding over $400m a year in both assessed contributions (membership fees) and donations – though it is actually $200m in arrears. [pdf]
Theoretically the White House cannot block funding of international institutions mandated by Congress. But the administration has found ways around such constitutional hurdles on other issues – by simply failing to disburse funds or apply sanctions, for example.
The funding could be formally rescinded, but that would require Senate approval, or “reprogrammed” by being diverted to another purpose that the White House could argue is consistent with the will of Congress.
[...] The WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had to fly to Beijing to meet Xi Jinping on 29 January to negotiate entry and information sharing. A WHO team was allowed to visit Wuhan on 22 February. Tedros has been criticised for his flattery of Xi and the Chinese response, in the face of Beijing’s obstructionism and cover-up attempts. His defenders said that such diplomacy was the price for entry.
Trump did more than his own fair share of Xi flattery. On 24 January, the president tweeted “China has been working very hard to contain the coronavirus … The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency.”
The claim that the delay in the WHO acquiring samples crippled the international response is also false. Chinese scientists publicly released the genetic sequence of Covid-19 on 11 January.
[...] By early February the WHO was in a position to distribute a Covid-19 test worldwide, but the US government opted not to have it fast-tracked through approval. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) instead produced its own test at about the same time, but it was flawed and had to be recalled. US testing would be set back more than six weeks compared to the rest of the world.
While virtually no testing was under way in the US throughout February, Trump assumed the consequently low number of confirmed US cases meant that his country had somehow escaped. “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA,” he boasted on 24 February, nearly a month after the WHO declaration of emergency. “We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health [Organisation] have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”
(Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Wednesday April 15 2020, @08:29PM (53 children)
Blaming the WHO and China Is Not Scapegoating [politico.com]
China didn’t warn public of likely pandemic for a pivotal 6 days, AP report shows [usatoday.com]
Timeline: The early days of China's coronavirus outbreak and cover-up [axios.com]
Free bonus: China’s top official in Hong Kong pushes for national security law [theguardian.com]
Nnevvy: Chinese troll campaign on Twitter exposes a potentially dangerous disconnect with the wider world [cnn.com]
France summons Chinese envoy after coronavirus 'slur' [theguardian.com]
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(Score: 5, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday April 15 2020, @08:57PM (42 children)
Yes, the W.H.O should have deployed their shock troops to force the authoritarian nation of China to tell the truth.
Meanwhile, the W.H.O was warning us about this virus while Trump was still calling it a hoax.
(Score: 2, Informative) by hemocyanin on Wednesday April 15 2020, @09:08PM (21 children)
Are you joking?
https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1217043229427761152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fworld%2Fworld-health-organization-january-tweet-china-human-transmission-coronavirus [twitter.com]
When WHO was writing killer (literally) tweets, even the Chinese sources it based that claim on added some CYA about preliminary info. Not WHO though. While WHO doesn't have shock troops and can't force China to do anything at all -- one would expect it to act slightly more responsibly than as a pro-China propagandist. I mean seriously, WHO would make big-tobacco funded researchers of the 60s blush and look away in embarrassment.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday April 15 2020, @09:16PM (16 children)
They reported that there was no clear evidence back when there was no clear evidence.
Once they found clear evidence, they reported it.
If there was all this clear evidence back in January why don't you provide a citation of it.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by hemocyanin on Wednesday April 15 2020, @09:39PM (15 children)
Except there was clear evidence: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/china-didn-t-warn-public-of-likely-pandemic-for-6-key-days/ar-BB12DU9q?ocid=bingcoronaviruslinks [msn.com]
(Score: 2, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday April 15 2020, @10:24PM (14 children)
That's evidence that China lied to WHO which was my entire point.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by slinches on Wednesday April 15 2020, @10:36PM (11 children)
What good is an organization that just parrots lies without verification from a country with a history of providing false info for their own benefit?
(Score: 3, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday April 15 2020, @10:47PM (9 children)
Saying they had no evidence when they had no evidence (because China was hiding it) is not a lie.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Wednesday April 15 2020, @11:28PM (8 children)
You are being intentionally obtuse. Take these two statements:
1) [RANDO] The virus is a hoax.
2) [EXPERT] There is no evidence to support person to person transmission.
#1 is clear but not likely given much weight because of a lack of credibility. In contrast, #2 has built into it a whole slew of assumptions enhancing credibility and very clearly implies that COVID-19 just isn't that big a deal. Kind of like how astrophysicist might say: "there is no evidence to support a flat earth hypothesis, we're scientists, this is our specialty, we know our shit." Most people are going to take that at face value because of the pedigree of the speaker. Apparently though, when WHO says something, we must treat their pronouncements with the same skepticism we'd treat anything Alex Jones says. This is an important realization because if WHO is the Alex Jones of public health, what the fuck are we doing paying them?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 16 2020, @12:14AM (7 children)
You're just desparate to give Trump a scapegoat. Care to discuss the verified lies Trump told that went counter to all the intelligence and recommendations from our own agencies and the WHO?
Not gonna hold my breath waiting for a reply :|
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 16 2020, @01:30AM (6 children)
I don't care about Trump. Didn't vote for him, will be voting 3d party yet again in all likelihood. What galls me is the level of self-righteousness his opponents engage in when those opponents are either no better or worse. It galls me that people call him a fascist and yet Obama created the practice of due process free execution of American citizens based on the content of youtube vids (speech), but gets treated like Jesus 2.0 instead of a war criminal. It particularly galls me that the media is so glaringly partisan. It might gall me enough to vote Trump out of spite, but time will tell on that count. It infuriates me that the best the DNC can do (aside from trying reignite the cold war with a nuclear power), after three fucking years, is come up with nothing but a creepy dementia patient as "opposition".
Trump could have been way better on this CV19 thing. He wasn't and that's really sad. But lets put him in context with Biden or Pelosi or DeBlasio or Cuomo -- it makes me livid. And then you have the press -- CNN headline [msn.com] today: "Prominent scientist have bad news for the White House about coronavirus antibody tests" -- you fucking partisan self-satisfied douche, it's bad news for Americans. The difficulty in creating a test isn't something to jump for joy about because you get a stupid fucking snipe point, but that's the level of Democrats today. Total fucking cunts.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 16 2020, @02:09AM (5 children)
Yes, it is bad news for Americans, but in the context of the article, it is bad news for the White House because they're the ones who keep telling the lies that "millions" of people have been tested and that "anyone who wants a test can get one" and that "these tests have really been ramping up" all the time. Nobody is jumping for joy. They are doing a service to self-ignorant dumbfucks like you by pointing out how absolutely shitty the situation has been, and how there has been absolutely no fucking leadership from the top.
"I'm not responsible for anything"
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday April 16 2020, @04:29PM (4 children)
Yeah, it's a shame all them folks dying cause they couldn't get cured by a test. Oh, wait...
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 17 2020, @12:49AM (3 children)
the fuck is wrong with you???
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday April 17 2020, @03:36AM (2 children)
According to all the progtards on their Listen and Believe campaign about testing? That I can tell the difference between a test and a cure.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 17 2020, @05:15AM (1 child)
Ah, you are mixing politics with science. Think I found your problem, but there is no cure for someone like you. One day you'll figure out that the cure was inside you all along!!!
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday April 17 2020, @12:56PM
Nope. I'm pointing out that progtards are harping on testing as if it were a cure. The movers and shakers are doing it because they think it will hurt Trump. The rank and file are doing it because they're fucking idiot sheep. The folks with TDS are doing it because they'll jump on anything anti-Trump; hell, they'd call for puppy genocide if he said he liked dogs.
Testing don't solve shit unless it can be done to everyone on demand with a minimum of twice a day being necessary to make a difference. What it does do and is useful for is it lets medical folks gather data after the fact.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 15 2020, @11:32PM
Works for Trump.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Wednesday April 15 2020, @10:37PM (1 child)
So what you are saying is that WHO is a mere conduit for Chinese propaganda and not an agency with any ability to do research or ask hard questions. Tell you what, I'll be China's stenographer for a mere $1 million per year. We can use the other $500-800 million to do useful things. Fair?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Wednesday April 15 2020, @11:38PM
Any organization composed of unelected Jewish managers, like the UN or the WHO, will gladly take money to espouse any talking point. But number one rule of the Jew organizations is to have a Black fall-guy so you're not racist, or something, if things go horribly wrong. That's why Obama was elected, after all.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Thursday April 16 2020, @03:42AM (3 children)
You quoting Fox News. Why not quote something more reliable, like Russia Today, or PressTV?
(Score: 1) by hemocyanin on Thursday April 16 2020, @05:31PM
It links to the tweet, via fox. It was how I found a clickable link fast but didn't notice all the redirects when I pasted it in to my reply. Anyway, there's no editorialising around the actual tweet -- it's just the tweet. For all you who won't look at a WHO tweet via a Fox link, here's the direct route to the _exact_same_ place:
https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1217043229427761152 [twitter.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Thursday April 16 2020, @05:36PM (1 child)
Who is more reliable than Fox News?
I'll wait.
I don't give any of those any time anymore. It's all lies and narrative and useless fear/anger/hate-porn.
Occasionally The Intercept, Glenn Greenwald's project, publishes interesting investigations. Wikileaks publishes raw data the rich and powerful don't want anyone to see. Stratfor is solid and worth paying for. Read the raw data or stay as close to it as you can.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 17 2020, @05:17AM
Actually just about everyone. None of the networks are reliable for truth, but Fox is at the bottom of the barrel.
Weird that anyone would bother defending Fox, especially an ex-democrat.
So can we just unmask all the Scooby Doo villains around here???
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 15 2020, @09:24PM (3 children)
No, they should have validated Chinese claims before repeating them and pressured China with the full support of the international community. China would let international observers in or WHO call a pandemic meaning all air traffic to and from China from WHO members would be grounded at Chinese expense.
They did no such thing. Lay-people with less information were calling the pandemic in mid-January while the WHO were busy denying human to human transmission. The WHO have no plausible deniability [change.org] and neither do the UN. [brookings.edu]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday April 16 2020, @02:37AM (2 children)
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
At that point, those lay people were wrong to call the pandemic, particularly with that lack of information. Let us keep in mind that there are lay people who will call any disease that shows up in the news as the next pandemic.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday April 16 2020, @05:40PM (1 child)
All you need to know these days is that if some sickness starts in China, it's gonna be a pandemic. So it's a pretty safe bet to call it that. One guy on BitChute I check on sometimes started reporting on it early, and when he said it jumped to Northern Italy in January I stocked up. Glad I did, now.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday April 17 2020, @03:40AM
(Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Wednesday April 15 2020, @09:31PM (9 children)
WHO warnings were crap. They declared a "global health emergency" [statnews.com] on Jan. 30 only after the CDC reported a case of human-to-human transmission [statnews.com], and even then they were handing out bad advice:
W.H.O. Declares Global Emergency as Wuhan Coronavirus Spreads [archive.org]
Here's a postponement notice [twitter.com].
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(Score: 4, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday April 15 2020, @10:36PM (3 children)
Were they supposed to declare an emergency before they had any evidence of human to human transmission?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Wednesday April 15 2020, @10:56PM
They had the evidence they needed. But it looks like the CDC used its own announcement that morning (Jan. 30) to prod them into finally making *a* right decision.
Net connection is getting wrecked, it will take a long time for me to reply anywhere.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 16 2020, @12:06AM
They knew. Even Ted Lieu [twitter.com] scores. WHO screwing up isn't a partisan issue, nor something we can ignore.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 16 2020, @05:57PM
what kind of stupid fucking slave sucks WHO ass?
(Score: 4, Informative) by c0lo on Thursday April 16 2020, @02:48AM (4 children)
How come countries that listened to/followed on them, as crap and untimely as they may have been, have much better results than US?
Australia - mortality rate: 0.97% [worldometers.info] - US mortality rate: 4.42% [worldometers.info]
(Australia started serious countermeasures - social distancing and what not - in early March [wikipedia.org])
(Point: blaming the WHO exclusively for your own administration failure is stupid)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 5, Insightful) by driverless on Thursday April 16 2020, @03:51AM
It's even worse than that. At the same time as the US, Vietnam were informed by WHO and the US CDC of the upcoming issues due to Covid19. Same time, same organisations, same advice as the US got. Vietnam, which has a pretty dodgy medical system, responded appropriately and has a pretty low death toll/infection rate (although I don't believe the official figures). The US, which got the same information at the same time from the same organisations and has a way better medical system than Vietnam, has the worst death toll in the world.
Incidentally, this is a great data point for causing severe cognitive dissonance in Trump fans. Strongest response I've had for pointing this out was actual hysterics, the person literally started screaming at me. I didn't do it deliberately, just pointed out this example and saw someone go completely to pieces over the conflict between what they wanted to believe and hard reality.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 16 2020, @08:03AM (2 children)
Many reasons:
#1: Urban density. Canberra is Australia's most densely compacted city (yes - more than Sydney). It has a density of about 500 people per kilometer. New York City has a population density of 10,700 people per kilometer.
#2: Fat. America is fat, really fat. Obesity + virus = dead. I also suspect we are not equivalent in other things such as immune compromised folks, etc. This means same cause = different effects.
#3: Globalism. New York City is a world epicenter for trade, migration, and so on. That means more spreaders and worse overall impact. Australia, simply, is not.
#4: Super spreaders. New York has large numbers of orthodox Jews who believe that if humanity suffers, it's gods will. They're similar to the Christian sect in Korea with similar views that also worked as super spreaders. They don't vaccinate or engage in other efforts to prevent viruses or disease. Same reason New York City tends to be an epicenter for measles outbreaks, etc. Australia, to my knowledge, lacks a similar group of super spreaders.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by c0lo on Thursday April 16 2020, @08:55AM (1 child)
Ok, let's speak of South Korea then. It had the same data from WHO and super-spreaders and started much earlier on the infection curve, and yet it managed to pull a 2.16% mortality rate [worldometers.info].
USofA, having the benefit of the insight of what happened elsewhere... fucked up precious time to hit 4.42%. And for this one should lay the blame exclusively on the WHO?
Like, the Trump administration is squeaky clean and, no sirree, Trump is not deflecting blame, he's just telling how it is. Is that what you're trying to say?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 16 2020, @03:33PM
Those mortality rates are incomparable, because each country has their own testing policy.
More interesting would be hospitalizations and outcomes.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Grishnakh on Wednesday April 15 2020, @09:32PM (4 children)
The WHO didn't do anything except regurgitate Chinese propaganda. Why exactly do they need billions in funding to do this, and why should anyone else be footing the bill for an organization that does nothing but praise the Chinese Communist party?
Comparing this to Trump's response is pure whataboutism. The WHO was derelict in its duty to the rest of the world in handling this contagion, and far more countries were harmed than Trump's America.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by mr_bad_influence on Thursday April 16 2020, @02:37AM (3 children)
I respectfully disagree. I think it's missing the point. The WHO isn't perfect. What international organization is? Can they do better? Sure. Can WE do better? I know we can. The point is that this organization exists and it's all we've got. Imagine where we (earth) would be if they weren't there. It's the best we've got and they foster relations and dialogue (good or bad, political or not) between nations. We have to start somewhere.
So, regardless of the issues with the WHO, it's evident the USA had the relevant information and it was OUR responsibility to act on it for the health of all Americans. The WHO is not responsible for that.
(Score: 1) by hemocyanin on Thursday April 16 2020, @05:38PM (1 child)
The countries ignoring WHO's advice, like S. Korea and Taiwan, have done much better. So where would be? Probably in a place where scientists analyzed the available information and were not unduly influenced by Chinese lies given amplified credibility via a presumptively scientific body. We don't know if it would have worked out better, but one thing is certain, the WHO was a harmful player in all this and needs to go.
(Score: 2) by quietus on Thursday April 16 2020, @07:38PM
Both countries with a keen eye on the true state of China, as seen on the ground, not as reported in the media, or to official instances.
Which puts forward a question: how come the US -- or most other Western states -- intelligence agencies (and embassies) not reporting the true nature of this threat, as witnessed on the ground, to their respective governments?
As to Western media: why did they make it seem -- and still make it seem -- like Wuhan province was the only place with severe lockdown restrictions, while you had/have similar lockdown measures in the rest of China? Was/is it too expensive to send over some additional journalists to other cities in China, and check the situation out there?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by darkfeline on Thursday April 16 2020, @09:59PM
Yes, being blatantly corrupt is a far cry from perfection.
Whether or not Trump or the USA handled the situation well does not excuse the WHO from sucking the CCPs fat member. I don't know why you and the other CCP apologists keep bringing it up. This entire thread is strictly about the WHO. If you need to bring Trump into the picture, then you clearly have no substantial argument in defense of the WHO and should just shut up.
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 15 2020, @11:03PM
No need for shock troops, but a little less cockgobbling would be nice.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by RamiK on Wednesday April 15 2020, @09:27PM (6 children)
You know, there's an obvious flaw in Trump's little scapegoating circus of the WHO and China: No other nation is backing him up and cutting funding to the WHO.
Let me clue you in on what's happening by making a prediction: When the dust settles the WHO will get their funding back and will switch malaria medication suppliers to Trump's company.
compiling...
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday April 15 2020, @09:42PM (2 children)
WHO should get their funding back (assuming Trump actually goes through with this) after Tedros is ditched. Directors-General serve 5 year terms, assuming no resignation or death in office (Lee Jong-wook).
Or you can just let a President Biden re-open the money spigot. Either way, they will get their precious funding back soon.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 15 2020, @11:09PM (1 child)
WHO will get their money back, but on terms that ensure that timely & accurate info is being conveyed.
(Score: 2) by number11 on Thursday April 16 2020, @02:58AM
Can the US government ensure that the info it conveys is timely & accurate (even by tweet)? Gonna need to rewrite history for that.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Bot on Wednesday April 15 2020, @09:55PM (1 child)
> No other nation is backing him up and cutting funding to the WHO.
When the USA wanted others to boycott chinese routers, nations under USA influence didn't follow suit either. There is only one other nation who can say fuck you to China and is Russia, the others will carefully consider. The Chinese are pretty vengeful, and if they were better than you Americans the system would have not picked them as the new chosen superpower. China is next and some Africans in 150 years. By then Europe will lay in ruins. The game of big money (with the two legs capitalism and socialism) has been going on for a while.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 15 2020, @11:11PM
You're a little behind the times. The US is and has been saying fuck you for a while. It seems to be working. Meanwhile, in the EU it's appeasement as usual.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday April 15 2020, @10:29PM
Only to treat malaria, though!
Anti-malarial treatment hailed by Trump has no benefit for coronavirus patients, French researchers find [scmp.com]
(Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 16 2020, @06:38AM (2 children)
Most of that is bullshit and/or spin. The rest of the world had plenty of time to react to the virus. A lot more time than China did. Evidence: There are countries which have it under control based on publicly available information. They could lose control of course but they are definitely doing better than the USA and a lot of Europe. Sweden has access to this supposedly hidden/covered up info and they still think it's not that dangerous. What more do you want the WHO or China to do? You want China to take over the world and enforce lockdowns?
Dec 16-30: China starts noticing the new disease
Dec 30: China stops Li Wenliang etc from telling the public about the disease. Note this was at a very early stage where nobody knew how dangerous the disease really was - not enough statistics and info. And even today many are still saying it's not that dangerous (look at Sweden and Brazil). Countries don't lockdown entire cities due to seasonal flu after all.
Dec 31: China informs the WHO of the pneumonia cases (no cover up when the info is via "proper" channels).
Jan 11: China reports their first death.
Jan 12: China submits the covid-19 genome to the WHO which is then shared globally. Scientists around the world start working on it.
Jan 23: China locks down Wuhan, starts building hospitals. None of you noticed that happening? Didn't see China's death counts going up either did you?
Jan 30: WHO: declares it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
Jan 30: Trump: We have it very well under control
Feb 2: Trump: We pretty much shut it down
Feb 10: Trump: Lot of people think it goes away in April. We're in great shape.
Feb 19: Trump: I think the numbers are going to get progressively better...
Feb 23: Trump: We have it very much under control
Feb 26: Trump: Because of all we've done the risk to the American people remains very low
Feb 28: Trump: This is their new hoax.
Mar 11: WHO: declares it a pandemic.
Mar 17: Trump: I've always known this is a real... this is a pandemic.
So who has been doing most of the lying and cover ups?
Of course the WHO doesn't call it a pandemic in Jan 2020. Because it was not a pandemic back then. It's only a pandemic because the whole world didn't manage to control the disease. It would be lying to say the whole world is on fire when it wasn't on fire yet. So the WHO called it a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern.".
As for the Chinese officials calling it a pandemic in secret, I find that story rather suspect and possible US propaganda. Why? Because 1) a pandemic is a disease that's gone global, at that point of time it hadn't gone global enough to be called a pandemic. 2) The Chinese authorities would likely have been using Mandarin terms not English. Go figure, maybe even look up the difference between epidemic and pandemic, and ask why the media would use the "pandemic" term now etc. Yeah and let's put most of the blame on China because they took 6 days longer than they could have when they're the first country to deal with the new disease. How about the rest of world taking weeks or months longer?
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Thursday April 16 2020, @08:03PM
And while we're at it, could we please stop using the word "epicentre" to describe place(s) that are particularly infested with the coronavirus? They're not epicentres. Epicentres are places that are above the centre. Being on the surface, they are centres, plain and simple.
With an earthquake, the centre is underground, so using epicentre for the place above it in the surface is OK.
-- hendrik
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 16 2020, @08:58PM
this is incorrect. I will not bother going through your list as the genome was sequenced a week earlier and China refused to share that information. In fact the first sequence information was available at the end of December but China would not share the sequence with the international scientific community. They also would not allow independent scientist access to the region or specific information.