United States responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
The United States' response to the COVID-19 pandemic with consists of various measures by the medical community; the federal, state, and local governments; the military; and the private sector. The public response has been highly polarized, with partisan divides being observed and a number of concurrent protests and unrest complicating the response.
This article is about the overall U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For other uses, see United States responses to the COVID-19 pandemic (disambiguation).Medical response[edit]
Initial response outside the U.S.[edit]
On January 6, a week after the U.S. was informed about the outbreak in China, both the Health and Human Services department and the CDC offered to send a team of U.S. health experts to China.[1][2] According to CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, the Chinese government refused to let them in, which contributed to the U.S. getting a late start in identifying the danger of their outbreak and containing it before it reached other countries.[3] Secretary Alex Azar said China did notify the world much sooner than it had after their SARS outbreak in 2003, but it was unexplainably turning away CDC help for this new one.[4]
On January 28, the CDC updated its China travel recommendations to level 3, its highest alert.[1] Azar submitted names of U.S. experts to the WHO and said the U.S. would provide $105 million in funding, adding that he had requested another $136 million from Congress.[5][4] On February 8, the WHO's director-general announced that a team of international experts had been assembled to travel to China and he hoped officials from the CDC would also be part of that mission.[6][4] The WHO team consisted of thirteen international researchers, including two Americans, and toured five cities in China with twelve local scientists to study the epidemic February 16–23.[7] The final report was released on February 28.[8]
In late January, Boeing announced a donation of 250,000 medical masks to help address China's supply shortages.[9] On February 7, The State Department said it had facilitated the transportation of nearly eighteen tons of medical supplies to China, including masks, gowns, gauze, respirators, and other vital materials.[10] On the same day, U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo announced a $100 million pledge to China and other countries to assist with their fights against the virus.[11]
On February 28, the State Department offered to help Iran fight its own outbreak, as Iran's cases and deaths were dramatically increasing.[12][13] Iran said, however, that U.S. sanctions were hampering its battle with the disease, which the U.S. denied, saying that Iran had mishandled the crisis.[14]
Private sector[edit]
Many janitors and other cleaners throughout the United States reported that they were not given adequate time, resources, or training to clean and disinfect institutions for COVID-19. One pilot reported that less than ten minutes was allotted to clean entire airplanes between arrival and departure, which did not allow cleaners to disinfect the tray tables and bathrooms, for which the practice was to wipe down only those that "[look] dirty". Cleaning cloths and wipes were reused, and disinfecting agents, such as bleach, were not provided. Employees also complained that they were not informed if coworkers tested positive for the virus. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal agency that regulates workplace safety and health, investigated a small fraction of these complaints. Mary Kay Henry, president of Service Employees International Union, which represents 375,000 American custodians, explained that "reopenings happened across the country without much thoughtfulness for cleaning standards." She urged better government standards and a certification system.[124]