The Pandemic Blame Game
Northeast Today|April 2020
The rate of new infections (COVID-19) across China has been falling. As China seems to be recovering after infecting more than 80,000 people, the other parts of the globe is in dire straits. In March, the US crossed the 100,000 mark of total cases, followed by Italy infecting more than 85,000 people and killing over 10,000 people which is the highest in any other country. The disease has spread to at least 170 countries and territories and killed more than 27,000 people and infected some 600,000 according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. As the world faces the pandemic, two superpowers play the blame game. Mumeninaz Zaman writes.
Mumeninaz Zaman
The Pandemic Blame Game

‘China lied and people died’

When the outbreak occurred China acted against the whistleblowers and not on the containment of the virus. A mistake which Beijing repeated following the SARS outbreak the first epidemic of the 21st century. The communist regime in the country is known for its dictatorship, which was on a spree of suppressing voices rather than the virus.

The breadth of the global outbreak, is the result of the climate of fear and distrust in China’s political system under the leadership of Xi Jinping. China’s lack of transparency is nothing new. On the contrary, many Chinese citizens should be lauded for their efforts to sound the alarm on the issue.

The Sunday Times of London reported, citing Chinese Business news site Caixin Global that, researchers alerted Beijing of the outbreak in December, however, on January, a gag order received from China’s National Health Commission, instructed to destroy the samples that established the cause of unexplained viral pneumonia on January 1. China did not acknowledge there was human-to-human transmission until more than three weeks later.

The alleged cover-up continued and the contagious nature of the virus led to the shut down of Wuhan. China acknowledged its epidemic, when the People’s Daily on January 21st admitted human-to-human spread. However, the delay in acknowledging and containing the virus by ‘The Red Dragon’, is now being paid by the entire globe.

War of words

This story is from the April 2020 edition of Northeast Today.

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This story is from the April 2020 edition of Northeast Today.

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