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Five Signs of Failure Five Signs of Failure
(5 months later)
This article is part of David Leonhardt’s newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it each weekday.This article is part of David Leonhardt’s newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it each weekday.
Five ways we know that the American response to the coronavirus isn’t yet working.Five ways we know that the American response to the coronavirus isn’t yet working.
1) There is still no sign of the curve flattening. Daily deaths in the United States have exceeded 1,000, and total deaths are now about 6,000. The number of new confirmed cases per day has exceeded 30,000, also a new high.1) There is still no sign of the curve flattening. Daily deaths in the United States have exceeded 1,000, and total deaths are now about 6,000. The number of new confirmed cases per day has exceeded 30,000, also a new high.
2) The caseload is growing more rapidly here than in Europe. In the chart above, I’ve compared the pace of growth in both the United States and a section of western Europe with a nearly identical combined population. (The European region includes 16 adjacent countries, all on the Continent; the full list is below.) The outbreak began earlier in Europe, so it still has a higher caseload. But the United States is on pace to overtake it.2) The caseload is growing more rapidly here than in Europe. In the chart above, I’ve compared the pace of growth in both the United States and a section of western Europe with a nearly identical combined population. (The European region includes 16 adjacent countries, all on the Continent; the full list is below.) The outbreak began earlier in Europe, so it still has a higher caseload. But the United States is on pace to overtake it.
3) The shortage of medical supplies continues. Doctors, nurses and other health care workers are having to take terrible risks, as a result. “Everyone is scared. Patients are scared. Staff is scared,” Erika Sawyer, a nurse-midwife, told The Times Magazine. “All masks are being rationed, and we don’t know how many we have.”3) The shortage of medical supplies continues. Doctors, nurses and other health care workers are having to take terrible risks, as a result. “Everyone is scared. Patients are scared. Staff is scared,” Erika Sawyer, a nurse-midwife, told The Times Magazine. “All masks are being rationed, and we don’t know how many we have.”
4) There is still a testing shortage. Without tests, it’s impossible to know who has the virus and who needs to be quarantined. But the United States has still conducted only about 3,300 total tests per million people, compared with 8,000 tests per million people in South Korea, according to a new Center for American Progress report.4) There is still a testing shortage. Without tests, it’s impossible to know who has the virus and who needs to be quarantined. But the United States has still conducted only about 3,300 total tests per million people, compared with 8,000 tests per million people in South Korea, according to a new Center for American Progress report.
5) Nationwide, the policy response remains inconsistent. There are still 12 states without stay-at-home orders, against expert advice. Florida, which is finally putting in place such an order today, has made an exception for religious services — a provision certain to spread the virus further. “It’s unacceptable,” Ezekiel Emanuel, a doctor, University of Pennsylvania administrator and co-author of the new report, told me. “I’m feeling deprived not being able to go to synagogue. It really bothers me. But it’s really important.”5) Nationwide, the policy response remains inconsistent. There are still 12 states without stay-at-home orders, against expert advice. Florida, which is finally putting in place such an order today, has made an exception for religious services — a provision certain to spread the virus further. “It’s unacceptable,” Ezekiel Emanuel, a doctor, University of Pennsylvania administrator and co-author of the new report, told me. “I’m feeling deprived not being able to go to synagogue. It really bothers me. But it’s really important.”
For more …For more …
James E. Baker, a former National Security Council official, in The Times: “Every Marine knows better than to pull a knife in a gunfight. But so far, that appears to be the federal government’s approach to battling Covid-19. The president has ‘invoked’ the Defense Production Act, but the government has not used the full authority of the act.”
The Center for American Progress report offers a list of recommendations for ending the crisis. It includes: a national stay-at-home policy for at least 45 days; a much bigger testing program; a campaign to encourage the use of cloth masks; and greater isolation of people who test positive. If the Trump administration doesn’t act, the report encourages states to do so.
The 16 European countries in my analysis are, from roughly west to east: Portugal, Spain, Andorra, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Austria and the Czech Republic. Like the United States, they have a combined population of about 330 million.
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Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.