[Quixote]

Originally Posted by LiverpoolWalrus

... I'll give the response a C-, basically because we implemented nothing learned from the drill just held in October 2019, sponsored by Johns Hopkins, the World Economic Forum and the Gates Foundation. And because the White House AND Fauci were downplaying the severity as the crisis was unfolding before our eyes in China, Iran and Italy. Granted, they rose to the occasion but a bit too late. And to this day, it's still not easy to get tested.

Originally Posted by tophcfa

I would give a grade of incomplete. No one anticipated this nightmare, and everyone is in a "learn as we go" situation. It is simply wrong to start playing the blame game while things are still working out and we are learning on the fly. Let's see how this whole thing eventually plays out, and then we can start to give out grads, if that is even really necessary?

Originally Posted by Choro&Swing

Everyone involved with health care, first responders, essential transportation personnel, and others risking their lives because they are required to (including meat packers): A+ and a standing ovation. Summa Cum Laude!

Congress: B. They argued too much and inserted pork that slowed things down, but they understood that helping employers who would keep paying employees who are staying home is MUCH better than one time $1,200 checks. Democrats and Republicans worked it out together. Terrific! That’s what they should be doing all the time, right? My sons are sitting at home receiving paychecks, and when things reopen, they will return to jobs they have held for years instead of having to start over. Great move Congress! Great move, businesses. (And if you think it is wrong to support businesses, wait three or four months and watch what happens when the next quarter’s earnings come in.)

CDC, FDA, and scientists working on this around the world: A. Thank you! Some missteps, but that is to be expected under pressure.

State and city governments: A to D. It varies. Open or closed, early or later, many state governments have done the right thing for their states when the federal government couldn’t be expected to understand their local circumstances.

White House: D. Dismantling and under-supporting pandemic preparedness offices and failure to push for scientific preparedness and supply preparedness was a horrible mistake, even though it would have been difficult to foresee the gigantic need for ICUs, masks, gloves, etc. Hiding the seriousness of the situation from the public was a mistake that cost thousands of lives, probably. Putting a hopeful face on things was helpful: FDR did the same thing during the Depression and WWII. Not trusting the scientists and the doctors and casting doubt on them and offering treatments that didn’t work was a horrible mistake. Using press conferences for endless self-congratulation or name-calling was embarrassing to the entire country, or should have been. However, it is not too late to raise this grade. Let’s give the White House an Incomplete, maybe.

I had a friend who lay dying of coronavirus in a nursing home while around the same time the public was told that coronavirus was a political hoax or nothing more than a few cases of common flu that would self-resolve in a few weeks.

My friend’s death was one of the earliest nursing home coronavirus deaths, well before such deaths were even included in the daily counts. Could she—and without doubt others—still be alive had the warnings been taken more seriously?

No one will ever know. And I feel too involved to give an impartial response to rhe OP’s questions. I’m not in total agreement, but the three posts above come the closest to how I would evaluate—if I could be objective....