When the surgeon general scolded people for buying masks that he said most didn’t need, the facts cited in the “recent studies” were already well-known and public knowledge. This is sad on many levels. https://twitter.com/cbsnews/status/1246197218941468673

Aside: There is a lot of reporting from the US and Europe lately presenting “new” facts in various studies and comments from public official. Most of such reporting I read says something that reporters covering the pandemic in China/Asia learned in Jan/Feb.

many of us working out here worked long and difficult hours for 2+ months to push out a lot of stories that we felt were important and needed to be out there for people to read and learn about the outbreak that seemed likely to spread elsewhere.

Some of my colleagues and friends have families in Wuhan/Hubei. Some of them have been separated from their families for months, in some cases because they felt China became unsafe as the outbreak emerged there and sent them elsewhere. Some have willingly gone into Wuhan/Hubei

...to report what is happening there. I have not spoken with all of them about this but I think it is safe to say they all worked with a sense of mission for the public good.

It upsets me on a personal level that many people out West seem surprised by facts reported long ago...

because the things that were being reported out here could have been used by folks in rest of the world to at least be aware and prepare. Of course, things like masks were very hard to get by Feb anyway. But it’s still sad that what’s been known was not read/heeded.

And this isn’t just about the US. Our reporting (i recently shared the Reuters exclusive) showed thatEU countries were clearly not ready but exhibited a sense of irrational preparedness that, considering the state of affairs there, appear to be hubris at best...

And gross negligence/incompetence at worst. A lot of countries’ governments will have much to answer for in the coming months and years.