If politicians were doing it correctly, coherent delivery of a message would follow. It isn't happening.
Nobody is capable of keeping this virus out of the US or Australia. Whether or not the Tokyo Olympics go ahead will not likely have any bearing on its ultimate spread.
In between my lines of scathing criticism against Trump I have recognised that he is responding to this pandemic more effectively than the hand sitters of Australian politics.
On Trump:
- he should not be cutting funding to the CDC at this particular point in time; - he should not be dismantling the US Global Health Security Team as reportedly he is; - he should not be making silly comments that the warm weather will cure this and that we have nothing to worry about; - He should not be blowing his top over the repatriation of cruise ship passengers into quarantine and controlled medical treatment facilities.
Pelosi says the $2.5bn requested by Trump is grossly inadequate. Good. They can both agree to put more $ on the table BUT it needs to be carefully directed. They need to be transparent and consultative on how it should be directed. This is not a back room job for Jared.
The only message we have in Australia is to stock up on supplies. Each to their own I guess, but a lot more can be done.
The non-China data suggests the virus is not lethal for most. The fatality rate is somewhere between 0.5% and 1% which is worse than most influenza outbreaks. Elderly people and people with respiratory conditions have cause to be concerned.
Known facts can be presented in a such a way as to facilitate planning while avoiding unwarranted panic. I don't want to see the under-response / over response pendulums continuing to swing.
