The coronavirus is impacting every aspect of our lives. The criminal justice system has no immunity. As this crisis continues, and for a long time to follow, those going through the justice system will need the government’s help.
When these requests face resistance, we must show many of the consequences for which relief is sought, were the result of the government’s own actions.
2017
Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said there is ‘no doubt’ Donald J. Trump will be confronted with a surprise infectious disease outbreak during his presidency.
In a sober briefing, Trump’s incoming team learned that the disease was an emerging pandemic — a strain of novel influenza known as H9N2 — and that health systems were crashing in Asia, overwhelmed by the demand.
2018
Four years after the United States pledged to help the world fight infectious-disease epidemics such as Ebola, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is dramatically downsizing its epidemic prevention activities in 39 out of 49 countries because money is running out, U.S. government officials said.
A novel strain of a virulent microbe that is easily transmissible between humans continues to be a major threat, with pathogens such as H5N1 and H7N9 influenza and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus having pandemic potential if they were to acquire efficient human-to-human transmissibility.
Its mission was the same as when I was asked to lead the office, established after the Ebola epidemic of 2014: to do everything possible within the vast powers and resources of the U.S. government to prepare for the next disease outbreak and prevent it from becoming an epidemic or pandemic.
One year later, I was mystified when the White House dissolved the office, leaving the country less prepared for pandemics like covid-19.
2019
"The simulation’s sobering results — contained in a draft report dated October 2019 that has not previously been reported — drove home just how underfunded, underprepared and uncoordinated the federal government would be for a life-or-death battle with a virus for which no treatment existed. "
The American disease expert, a medical epidemiologist embedded in China’s disease control agency, left her post in July, according to four sources with knowledge of the issue. The first cases of the new coronavirus may have emerged as early as November, and as cases exploded, the Trump administration in February chastised China for censoring information about the outbreak and keeping U.S. experts from entering the country to help.
Ever since the 2005 H5N1 bird flu scare, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has run a project to track and research these diseases, called Predict. At a cost of $207 million during its existence, the program has collected more than 100,000 samples and found nearly 1,000 novel viruses, including a new Ebola virus.
But on Friday, the New York Times reported that the US government is shutting down the program. According to its former director Dennis Carroll, the program enjoyed enthusiastic support under Bush and Obama, but “things got complicated” in the last few years until the program “essentially collapsed.”
The World Health Organization announces there is a mysterious pneumonia in China.
2020
U.S. intelligence agencies were issuing ominous, classified warnings in January and February about the global danger posed by the coronavirus while President Trump and lawmakers played down the threat and failed to take action that might have slowed the spread of the pathogen, according to U.S. officials familiar with spy agency reporting.
Dr. Stephen Hahn, 60, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, enforced regulations that paradoxically made it tougher for hospitals, private clinics and companies to deploy diagnostic tests in an emergency.
The C.D.C. gave little thought to adopting the test being used by the W.H.O. The C.D.C.’s test was working in its own lab — still processing samples from states — which gave agency officials confidence. Dr. Anne Schuchat, the agency’s principal deputy director, would later say that the C.D.C. did not think “we needed somebody else’s test.”
Trump told a reporter he was not concerned about the coronavirus becoming a pandemic and said it was "totally under control."
Senator Chris Murphy publicly raised concerns that the Trump Administration's response to the coronavirus was inadequate.
“…Bottom line: they aren’t taking this seriously enough.”
This week the State Department has facilitated the transportation of nearly 17.8 tons of donated medical supplies to the Chinese people, including masks, gowns, gauze, respirators, and other vital materials. These donations are a testament to the generosity of the American people.
But officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention disagreed, contending they could still spread the virus. The CDC believed the 14 should not be flown back with uninfected passengers.
February 26, 2020
58 Confirmed Cases
Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Resources
President Trump states the coronavirus would be disappear.
“It’s going to disappear. One day it’s like a miracle—it will disappear.”
President Trump refers to the coronavirus as a "hoax"during a campaign rally in South Carolina.
February 28, 2020
68 Confirmed Cases
Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Resources
Section 1. Policy and Findings. On March 13, 2020, I declared a national emergency recognizing the threat that the novel (new) coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 poses to our national security. In recognizing the public health risk, I noted that on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization announced that the outbreak of COVID-19 (the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2) can be characterized as a pandemic.
March 18, 2020
13,700 Confirmed Cases
Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Resources
President Trump suggests that the federal government would only provide aid to governors battling the coronavirus outbreak if they "treat us well also."
March 27, 2020
121,500 Confirmed Cases
Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Resources
If we are willing to be honest with ourselves about this today – then we can start saving lives – today.
Lawrence Koplow is an attorney in Phoenix, Arizona. His practice focuses on the defense of DUI and Vehicular Crimes. He is also a published author concerning these areas of the law and a proud graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.
Follow Lawrence on Twitter (@lawkop)
The post Coronavirus Timeline appeared first on Lawrence Koplow: Arizona DUI Attorney | Phoenix & Scottsdale.
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