Trump's Counterproductive "Foreign Virus" Speech, & Social Distancing Really Does Work

Trump's Speech.

As far as I'm aware, viruses don't have nationalities and little tiny passports, but, of course, the President couldn't help himself.

Vox: "Seated behind his desk in the White House Wednesday, Trump looked into the camera and warned Americans of an enemy who has infiltrated our borders. We are at war, he said, with a “foreign virus.”

Labeling the coronavirus as "foreign" is simply unhelpful, more than a bit xenophobic, and beside the point. It's here and spreading rapidly. The Chinese or Europeans didn't send it to us and suggesting it's some sort of foreign invader is just weird. It's a virus, for God's sake.

The President then went on to bungle the rest of the speech, despite a teleprompter, and he and other officials had to clean up the damage later in the evening. By then, the stock futures market had tanked and everyone in America was trying to figure out what was really in his European travel ban.

Washington Post: “Mr. Trump’s address was meant to calm the waters,” wrote Edward Luce of the Financial Times. “By the time he finished they were considerably rougher … Mr. Trump has elevated the uncertainty risk. To put it bluntly, no one has much clue what he will do next."

Americans want to know that the President working with scientists and the medical community are on the same page and have a plan. Instead, the President's address just sowed more confusion and signaled that no one is really in charge. The speech was, at best, counterproductive. Joe Biden will get his chance to discuss the pandemic later today.

Social Distancing Works.

The Washington Post has a wonderful article about the importance of social distancing, and its impact on "flattening the curve" of new cases of the virus.

Washington Post: "The best way to prevent a catastrophic explosion of cases in the next few weeks, many experts think, is to break potential chains of transmission by preventing infected people from coming in close contact with healthy ones, whether it means canceling conferences or relying on individual decisions to avoid crowded public transportation or postpone weddings." ...

..."Particularly for people who are young and healthy, disruptions may seem to be excessive — alarmist restrictions. But graphics comparing the speed of spread of epidemics with and without social distancing provide a powerful visual illustration of the importance of what experts call “flattening the curve.” It’s the difference between a viral outbreak that has the profile of Mount Everest, exploding vertically, vs. one that unfolds over time — a long, low hill."

We are all in this together, so be good to each other, ... just not in crowds.

#coronavirus #news #Trump

By: Don Lam & Curated Content