As COVID-19 cases passes 5M mark in America, Europe stunned at failure of US to contain virus - MSN Money

Much of the incredulity in Europe stems from the fact that America had the benefit of time, European experience and medical know-how to treat the virus that the continent itself didn’t have when the first COVID-19 patients started filling intensive care units.

Health officials believe the actual number is perhaps 10 times higher, or closer to 50 million, given testing limitations and the fact that as many as 40% of all those who are infected have no symptoms.

“But with this virus we’ve discovered a country that is very fragile, with bad infrastructure and a public health system that is nonexistent.”.

“Had the medical professionals been allowed to operate in the States, you would have belatedly gotten to a point of getting to grips with this back in March,” said Scott Lucas, professor of international studies at the University of Birmingham in England.

“But of course, the medical and public health professionals were not allowed to proceed unchecked,” he said, referring to President Trump’s frequent undercutting of his own experts.

When the virus first appeared in the United States, Trump and his supporters quickly dismissed it as either a “hoax” or a scourge that would quickly disappear once warmer weather arrived.

At one point, Trump suggested that ultraviolet light or injecting disinfectants would eradicate the virus.

Trump supporters and Americans who have refused to wear masks against all medical advice back that line.

David Ho, director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in Washington Heights, who is leading a team seeking treatments for COVID-19, decried such behavior, as well as the country’s handling of the virus.

“There’s no national strategy, no national leadership, and there’s no urging for the public to act in unison and carry out the measures together,” he said.

Amid the scorn from other countries, Trump national security adviser Robert O’Brien, newly recovered from a bout with the virus, gave an upbeat picture Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”.

Many Europeans point proudly to their national health care systems that not only test but treat COVID-19 for free, unlike the American system, where the virus crisis has only exacerbated income and racial inequalities in obtaining health care.