A failure on the part of our highest leadership to act, even after WHO had warned all nations, and even after we witnessed the number of deaths and the level of contagion coming from China, and Italy, and South Korea.

That did not occur under H1N1, and that did not occur under SARS.

In case your memory is short, here is a brief re-cap:

December 31 -Chinese officials and WHO health experts in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province confirmed dozens of cases — but they are unsure of the cause. (This confirms what some journalists had been reporting).

January 7 - The outbreak was identified by WHO as a new coronavirus — and WHO advised all nations to begin to take “appropriate actions.”

January 11 - Chinese officials confirmed their first death, and WHO again reminded all nations to take “appropriate actions.” WHO also released a statement on how contagious this new coronavirus was.

January 20 - A World Health Organization situation report detailed the first confirmed cases outside China in Thailand, Japan and South Korea.

January 30 - WHO declared the outbreak a global public health emergency as more than 9,000 cases were reported worldwide, including in 18 countries beyond China.

When our leaders ought to be active, they were busy strategizing for 2023 election.