letters
Readers critique how President Trump has reacted to the crisis and offer firsthand accounts of how people are coping with the disease in Asia.
To the Editor:
Re “Facing Potential Test in Public Trust” (news analysis, front page, Feb. 27):
In reaction to the Ebola crisis, Congress created a series of infectious disease centers with specialized equipment and highly trained teams of medical staff. The five-year funding for these centers is about to expire, and so far efforts to renew it are going nowhere (along with about 400 other bills passed by the House). President Trump got rid of two top officials in this medical chain of command two years ago and has yet to replace them.
Viruses aren’t stopped by walls and they aren’t intimidated by tweets. Keeping Americans safe from such threats requires vision, planning, persistence and working with other countries. Mr. Trump and Senate Republicans have demonstrated no interest in doing any of those things. God help us.
John Gallogly
Los Angeles
To the Editor:
Re “Vice President’s Office to Control All Messaging on the Virus” (news article, Feb. 28):
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has spoken to the media in frank and honest terms about infectious diseases, including H.I.V./AIDS, influenza, measles, Ebola and, most recently, Covid-19. I read with alarm, therefore, that the “White House had instructed him not to say anything else without clearance.”
We should all be terrified if President Trump is moving to silence the most trusted voice on infectious diseases in the world at a time when a growing epidemic is threatening the United States. Whom do you trust for information about your health: Dr. Fauci, or President Trump or Vice President Mike Pence?
Edward L.C. Pritchett
Durham, N.C.
The writer is a consulting professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center.
To the Editor:
My wife and I have just returned from a three-week vacation to Singapore and Cambodia, returning through LAX airport on Feb. 20. We found Singapore itself to be spotless, with public health notices everywhere reminding people to follow basic hygiene protocols to prevent disease spread.
Most hotels in both Singapore and Siem Reap, Cambodia, had temperature monitoring, both at check-in and before entering common eating areas. Singapore Changi Airport had infrared temperature screening of all passengers entering the country. There were hand sanitizers everywhere and careful questioning at the airports both in Singapore and Cambodia about whether we had traveled to China in the past 14 days.
We arrived in Los Angeles to an immigration system that has clearly fallen apart — 2,000 to 3,000 people lined up in close proximity, 90 percent with no masks and many with coughs. It took almost three hours. No questions about China travel in 14 days, no hand sanitizer available, customs officials with no gloves and greatly overworked.
We have self-quarantined ourselves for 14 days just in case we might be infectious, but this is not because of any public health guidance in the immigration process. It was very depressing to see the potential for the spread of the virus due to lack of foresight.
Andrew Klingensmith
Fort Collins, Colo.
To the Editor:
Dear President Trump:
The emergence of the coronavirus has created an unprecedented opportunity for you to lead in a constructive way. As a New Yorker who followed your career, I was aware for decades that you abhorred the ritual of handshaking. It appears that you reluctantly took it up during your first campaign and in your role as president. This potential pandemic is an opportunity to convert the nation, and perhaps the world, to your way of thinking regarding this unsanitary ritual.
You can do so much good to help stop the spread of coronavirus by persuading people to adopt the fist bump or elbow bump, or, as some other cultures do, bowing. Your leadership on this issue can save many lives around the world.
Larry Lynn
Grand View-on-Hudson, N.Y.
To the Editor:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says to stay home when you’re sick and prepare for “significant disruption” to our lives with the likely spread of coronavirus in the United States. Yet for nearly seven in 10 workers who earn low wages — and more than three in 10 over all — doing just that can cost you your pay, and maybe your job. These are the workers who serve our food, drive our kids’ school buses, care for our elderly loved ones.
It shouldn’t take a pandemic to remind us that we all have a stake in a universal standard of paid sick days and paid family and medical leave.
Ellen Bravo
Milwaukee
The writer is strategic adviser for Family Values @ Work.
To the Editor:
President Trump’s response to the coronavirus virus is typical of him — simply say a bunch of fluffy things. He is quoted as saying: “But we are very, very ready for this, for anything” and “We really have done a very good job.” But he never backs up these statements with details.
What has he actually done to protect us? U.S. citizens deserve that information. Perhaps Mr. Trump simply doesn’t know or doesn’t really care.
Brant Thomas
Cold Spring, N.Y.
To the Editor:
Re “City in South Korea Tries Openness, With Word of Caution About Crisis” (news article, Feb. 26):
I live in Daegu, Samsung’s birthplace and the epicenter of Covid-19 in South Korea. Yes, the situation is grave; the number of cases here has topped 1,000. Since the unexpected outbreak in January, we have taken decisive pre-emptive measures while doctors and nurses do their job. We avoid one another. A controversy on whether to ban travelers from China aside, the government has responded rather systematically and decisively.
I have faith in the public sector and the medical system. The massive outbreak will hopefully reach an inflection point in a few weeks. We prevailed over SARS and MERS. Thanks to universal health care, it’s cheap to test all residents with symptoms, another reason for so many infections having been identified.
A number of medical professionals — 500 doctors in three days — voluntarily stepped up to serve the isolated city. Some landlords have cut rent in half, or even exempted tenants, for those hit hard. This invisible enemy shall be overcome.
Shi-Chul Lee
Daegu, South Korea
The writer is a professor in the School of Public Administration at Kyungpook National University.
