Posted on 02/08/2020 4:40:22 PM PST by familyop
A 35-year-old Washington, D.C., man visited an urgent care clinic on Jan. 19, a few days after returning from Wuhan, China.
After undergoing testing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that he had contracted the 2019-nCoV coronavirus—the first such case in the United States.
Since surfacing in Wuhan in December, the 2019-nCoV coronavirus has spread to nearly 30 countries, killing 565 and infecting more than 28,000 worldwide. As of this writing, 12 cases have been confirmed in the U.S. Note that these numbers are changing almost every hour.
As cases began to emerge within American borders, the Trump administration took quick and decisive action.
By creating a coronavirus task force, issuing stringent travel restrictions, and offering to aid the Chinese in combating the outbreak, the White House has made every effort to protect the American people and stop the virus from spreading.
First, on Jan. 29, the White House announced the formation of the task force, designed to facilitate interagency coordination while keeping President Donald Trump informed on the epidemic.
The task force, coordinated through the National Security Council, includes a variety of public health officials, regional experts, and national security specialists. Trump tapped Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to lead the group.
As The Heritage Foundation’s Peter Brookes has pointed out, it’s somewhat odd that the task force did not initially include officials from the Department of Defense. Not only does the Pentagon have immense logistical resources at its disposal, it also has been requested to provide housing for individuals under quarantine. Perhaps by now, the Defense Department is represented on the task force.
Overall, however, the creation of the task force should be considered a success. Continued collaboration between government agencies will be essential for containing the spread of the virus.
Then, on Jan. 31, Trump signed a proclamation restricting travel from China to the United States.
The document first outlined two types of quarantines for U.S. citizens returning from China, depending on which regions they had traveled to.
Americans who traveled to Hubei province—the epicenter of the 2019-nCoV outbreak—within the past two weeks must undergo up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine, conducted at various locations and military bases.
Meanwhile, Americans returning from other regions of China will face up to 14 days of monitored self-quarantine in their own homes.
Second, Americans who enter the country after traveling to China are being routed through certain airports, where Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experts can conduct advanced health screenings.
Originally, only seven airports were designated as entry points. Since Trump’s proclamation was issued, four more have been added.
Third, foreign nationals who visited China within the past two weeks will be barred from entering the United States.
While this provision contains a number of exceptions—family members of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals working on flight crews, for instance, are exempted—some commentators have criticized it as too harsh a response.
Overall, however, these restrictions actually demonstrate a willingness to protect the American people—by whatever means necessary.
Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, summed up the rationale behind such a drastic response.
“We would rather be remembered for overreacting than underreacting,” she said.
Finally, the executive branch has helped with the outbreak in China itself.
During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Trump announced that the U.S. is “coordinating with the Chinese government and working closely together” to combat the spread.
The day before, on Monday, Health and Human Services announced that American experts will join a World Health Organization team tasked with curbing the outbreak in China. The U.S. has also delivered medical supplies and humanitarian goods to authorities in Wuhan.
On the whole, the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak has been decisive and comprehensive, and—thus far, at least—seems to be quite effective.
The U.S. response has generated backlash from the World Health Organization and the Chinese government, which have framed the travel restrictions as too extreme. But protecting the American people must be any U.S. president’s first priority.
Ultimately, the administration deserves praise for formulating a robust response to the outbreak.
Brayden Helwig is a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation.
Thomas W. Spoehr, a retired Army lieutenant general, is director of the Center for National Defense at The Heritage Foundation.
This article first appeared at The Daily Signal on February 6, 2020.
Not sure I'd consider creating a task force a success.
He appears to have chosen very competent, intelligent professionals.
Did you expect him to use his personal expertise in fighting this, or to wisely delegate the problem to those with the pertinent professional knowledge?
The author writes somewhat poorly. I believe his meaning was the effectiveness of having the task force to date has been positive.
Coronavirus is likely a product of a Chinese laboratory - in Wuhan
Its their Chernobyl.
I think it was Washington State, not Washington DC
Obama would have created a task force of muslims, trans, women and asians that would have done nothing but eat at the best restaurants, have meetings and send out press releases as they pretend to do something.
new info indicates it is aerosolized. this is bad news.
so the cruise ship will give a great many clues as this proceeds. the majority should get it. if they don’t...find out why a person didn’t get it.
If anyone ever needed more proof that globalists want us to die en-masse.
A lot of people simply have stronger immune systems than others. I don’t know that there’s a way to effectively study that, as opposed to what might be some genetic strength or weakness in some people with regard to this virus.
There was an article recently about the lung tissue of men, and Asian people in general (I can’t find a date for the source study, and it seems to be another pre-print on biorxiv.org):
https://theprepared.com/blog/new-study-suggests-2019-ncov-may-hit-men-asian-people-harder/
(I’m not a scientist.)
Given we’ve only known of this new disease a few weeks, it is sort of early to declare a success (or failure) yet.
I think this will target certain ethnicities harder than others. That is not to say others can’t get it.
Too many factors are unknown.
I have certain traits that are common to Asians. I might be more susceptible even though am a Caucasian type of thing.
I might be more prone to catch it by standing in vicinity of spreader while you might stand there and it doesn’t effect you.
I say take precautions just like you should for the flu as we await to see how bad it is.
I was reassured when I saw the task force. The only qualification needed seemed to be competency, not diversity.
I think you are correct - sensible precautions, with frequent and thorough hand washing utmost.
(And don’t let ourselves succumb to fear and panic. That plays hell on the immune system as well on our ability to function in a crisis.)
I saw something similar to your article. It stated the same theory and correlated the same to infection and death rates during the SARS epidemic.
A cruise ship with some possibly infected folks docked about 20 minutes from my house in Bayonne.
If I stop showing up keep up the fight.
And don’t touch any of my posts on the screen.
One can’t be too careful.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.