Why did the USA fail in its initial coronavirus response?

03/19/20 • 23 min

6 Listeners

‘It’s a failing, let's admit it’ says top health official, Dr Anthony Fauci. He’s talking about the fact that it took a month for a working coronavirus test to be rolled out around the country, while other countries were testing thousands of people. How was this allowed to happen? In this edition of The Inquiry, we explore the ways in which the US lost valuable time in dealing with the coronavirus and how their health system could make things more difficult still.

(A cleaning crew adjusts protective clothing as they prepare to enter the Nursing Home in Kirkland, Seattle Washington which has had the most deaths due to COVID-19 in the USA.Credit:John Moore/Getty Images)

Previous Episode

How China turned the tide with coronavirus

There are now significantly more new cases of coronavirus outside China than inside. On the first day of this week there were only 44 new cases in the whole country. Just a few weeks ago that figure was in the thousands.

While the authorities have been criticised for their initial slow response to the outbreak, allowing it to spread quickly, since January they have taken unprecedented action to clamp down on the spread of the virus. Whole cities have been put into quarantine and travel restrictions have been imposed on millions of people. New hospitals have been built with lightning speed and huge amounts of money has been spent on testing kits and other technology to fight Covid-19.

China has been accused of infringing civil liberties in its fight against Coronavirus but it has also been praised for the extreme public health measures it has taken. So what did the Chinese actually do and can it be replicated elsewhere?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: John Murphy

(Photo: A man talks through a barricade wall built to control entry and exit to a residential compound in Wuhan, Hubei province, China.Credit: Getty Images)

Next Episode

Coronavirus: What can the world learn from South Korea?

After China, South Korea was next in line to be struck by the Coronavirus outbreak. And in the early days the number of cases was going up fast – many of them related to a secretive religious sect. But the country has rapidly managed to get a grip on the outbreak and has kept its mortality rate low. It has done this without an official lockdown. The secret appears to be preparation, widespread testing and acting fast. With the help of four expert witnesses, Kavita Puri investigates what else we can learn from South Korea in its battle against Covid-19.

Presenter: Kavita Puri Producer: John Murphy

(A couple wearing face masks walk through an alleyway in Seoul on March 24, 2020. Credit: Ed Jones/Getty Images)