Dr Oxiris Barbot on Covid-19: 'We had to prepare New Yorkers, emotionally'
Former New York City health commissioner, Dr Oxiris Barbot on the moment she realised what the pandemic would mean for New York – and why they needed to act quickly.
On January 21st, the first case of COVID-19 is declared on US soil. It will be 54 days until President Trump declares a national emergency. During those critical weeks – where the President downplays “the China virus” as a hoax – the disease takes hold. By mid-2020 150,000 Americans will be dead. This is the inside story of why it took him so long to act. And how when he did, it wasn’t enough.
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