The time to have begun serious preparations in the US was two months ago [View all]

[intrepidity]

Trump crows about his decision to halt flights from China. What that did was buy time.

THAT PRECIOUS TIME WAS SQUANDERED!!

Priority #1 should have been streamlining the testing -- from production (and QC for cripes sake!) to distribution to implementation. Tens of thousands--at least--should have already been tested. At this point, testing should have been routinely integrated.

Priority #2 should have been supply stockpiling. The time for ramping up PPE production/distribution was in January. And by supplies, I also mean things like anticipating the shortfall in critical medications that rely on China's supply chain. Figuring out workarounds.

There are myriad of ways the Trump administration should have been using that time, but didn't. He is fully culpable for that failing, and I hope the public and the media don't give him a pass on this one.

Buying time is only good if you actually DO something critical with that time!

I could go on and on about what could and should have been done. Anybody paying even the least bit of attention KNEW this was extremely serious when China took the drastic measures they did. The hand-wringing about how "oh we didn't know how bad it may be" or "we didn't expect it to come here" or "but the research wasn't in yet" is all BULLSHIT. The minute you saw what was happening in China, you (and by you I mean our public health apparatus), that was the moment to begin serious preparation.

But, "oh no, the stock market..."

GRRRRRRRR!