COVID-19 & US healthcare system

[hazard]

Current US Cases per CDC

Total cases: 1,629
Total deaths: 41

link:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nco...in-us.html

Current cases in the Netherlands according to John Hopkins University:

Total cases: 959
Total deaths: 12

maybe i'm an asshole, actually i know i am, but i'm about sick of the damn hypocrisy, as much as you want to scream Orange Man Bad and blame Trump for this, it's not his fault.

The virus? No, that's not his fault.

The utterly lacking and incompetent response to it as showcased by the USA so far? Yes, yes that is his fault.

Blame the fucking Chinese and your Globalism.

Although the early spread of the virus in Hubei is the fault of the Chinese government's attempts to suppress information and thus effective response (very much like Trump's denial of facts for his political convenience), once they clued in that didn't work they responded swiftly and thoroughly to suppress the virus' spread as much as possible. Quite successfully actually. South Korea and Singapore, having the example of the Chinese, imposed extensive measures much earlier, and to good success.

Italy did not, and is paying the cost.

And frankly? Globalism isn't much of a factor here. Cheap and fast international travel for tourists is, and that would be a big thing even if globalism wasn't. Slower travel would've allowed a more effective quarantine, especially when the method of sending the message ensures that there's not risk of contamination. Diseases like measles and smallpox spread between towns because of human to human contact, maintaining quarantine between infected towns and cities became much easier with the invention of the telegraph because messages travel much faster than people and did not need to be carried by people to their destination. At the same time, the invention of rail roads made it harder because people could and would travel much farther much more easily.

Also, quit fucking panicking, almost all of you are young, this causes issues for older people, and seems to only kill those (so far) with pre-existing conditions and those that can't get health care like those poor italian elders who are being told to go home because they don't have room for them. (yeah, hows that socialized medicine working for you there huh?)

I will note that the major Republican support in the USA is 1) old people, and 2)those living paycheck to paycheck, who thus 3) can't afford to go to the hospital for treatment or even diagnosis, 4) won't know they are infected in case they are lucky and have minor symptoms and merely pass it off as a nasty flu or cold and 5) have a strong sense of family values who will be more likely to spend long hours travelling to visit their elderly family who have fallen ill.

And that socialized healthcare is working out pretty well actually. Does triage because of overstretched resources suck? Yes it does, especially for those who end up with the short end. But it allows us a grasp of the situation, get at least some effective treatment in even for those who are badly effected and makes sure that people who are infected at least know they are infected and able to take precautions.

What you see in Italy? That's what happens when a nasty virus spreads out of control. Italy is trying very much to ensure proper care to everyone. The USA? You aren't going to see poor USA elders turned away from hospitals because they have no capacity. They are going to be turned away because they have no money, or take on massive debts, die, and leave the debts to their inheritors, or have no money, try and get a loan for medical reasons and be denied. And all that while rich people who are minimally at risk get care and bump the poor out of hospital care because the rich can spend large sums of money.

But most of you are either going to ignore this, or just lash out because i'm another one of those dastardly conservatives that seem to want to put America first above the great global humanity

Eh, you are a reactionary, nationalistic asshole. What else is new? Once the USA might even have been worthy of being above the great global humanity, but that time is long, long gone.