The most pitiful fact of all is that if everyone started just wearing masks

[bullimiami]

and practicing common protocols first thing this would have never exploded as much.

I just am not hearing this from anyone. Even without testing tracing and isolation just simply making nationwide masking mandatory and providing masks for everyone would have had a huge impact on the spread.

Yet here we are with dr stupid running the show and a bunch of fools following him to hell.

[Srkdqltr]

1. In the beginning all the wisdom was no to wearing masks.

[Dale Neiburg]

5. Which in a way was a good thing

since there weren't any masks....

[Nay]

6. Not really, though. It's so easy to make masks that individuals could whip them up for themselves

(there are even no-sew masks shown on YouTube) and their families almost immediately. Never mind the many sewers who have been making them for sale for several dollars each. We could have all had masks pretty quickly.

[Ms. Toad]

11. That was the talking point, not the wisdom.

There has been plenty of science behind wearing masks from day one, but it was discouraged to ensure enough masks for health care workers.

We are now paying the price for that strategic decision that was touted as good science, since many of the people refusing to wear masks are insisting the new recommendation is, similarly, a political one, not a medical one.

I said at the time it was bad advice - and we're paying a double price for it now.

[leftieNanner]

2. You are so right

Common sense is a good thing. Unfortunately, in certain circles (ahem), it's in short supply.

[Hoyt]

3. I agree, but they gave us BS about masks because there weren't enough.

Heck, we could have used bandannas or wrapped toilet paper around our heads early on.

[2naSalit]

4. Many of my peeps

started wearing them after I sent them that video about the Czech Republic's success with mandatory mask policies back in early March. Some of us didn't buy the BS about them not being effective.

[Takket]

10. Exactly

Because drumpf wasted two months calling it a hoax, when the shit hit the fan we couldn’t even mask up the hospital Workers so they didn’t tell us to wear masks until a month later when the supplies started coming back.

[Evolve Dammit]

7. Exactly the least we could have done and it's still too much to ask and somehow infringes on rights?

[NightWatcher]

8. Republicans: Not even a shred of basic human decency!

[totodeinhere]

9. I try not to let any politician affect my sleep habits.

N/t

[Thekaspervote]

12. This is how the Czech Republic handled it, that and a total lock down.

They are doing really well!

[yuiyoshida]

13. I put this solely on Trump and the Do Nothing Senate

Had Trump not fired the pandemic team, we would in better shape but even now the President won't move his stupid ass on this...He wants more deaths.. sure seems like. He can't blame this on Biden ...but he will probably try.

[Caliman73]

17. I agree.

This is ALL on Trump and his accomplices in the Senate. We would have had people on the ground in China, helping them to contain the virus and giving us MUCH more time and information. Trump shut that all down. He was praising China for their "hard work and transparency" before he found that it might be more beneficial to him to attack them as the cause and source of all the problems. He spent 6 weeks downplaying the virus. He waited weeks to issue general guidelines. The Senate passed shitty economic help legislation. Trump started undermining governors who had strict orders in place because of the economic impact to his chances at re-election and Republican politicians followed suit. He doesn't model good behavior, not wearing masks or social distancing denigrating testing and information from experts.

He will blame it on anyone but himself, but you are right, if he can tar Joe Biden with this, he will.

[yuiyoshida]

18. The Trump administration was sworn in long before this

pandemic started. Obama had the CDC create a path for Trump to follow, TRUMP Ripped it up and walked his own path, off a cliff.

[Caliman73]

19. Totally!

That fucker has been trying to take credit for ALL of the work President Obama and his administration did to restore the economy. President Obama left Trump with a growing economy, a recovered Stock Market, low unemployment (President Obama cut unemployment from 10.1 percent to 4.7 percent. Under Trump it went down a whopping 1.1 percent and he proclaims himself the greatest economic recovery president ever!

President Obama and even Bush Jr. warned of the coming pandemic, and President Obama built up an infrastructure including a massive ground game in China, and Trump destroyed it all, THEN that asshole says that President Obama didn't leave him with anything.


He is an outright failure!

[JudyM]

14. And if nursing homes installed uv-c lighting and HEPA filters and increased fresh air ventilation.

[kimbutgar]

15. My husband in his job has taken many classes about poisonous fumes, dust and air borne dangers

He came home on March 17th and said to me I was no longer allowed to go out in public without a mask. Luckily I had some good scarfs and since then have been making masks with old t shirts. I finally scored some elastic and this past week making more professional ones. I just spoke to my sons group home manager and I will be making 10 masks next week for the staff.

[DEbluedude]

16. It seems to me...

that the most pitiful thing about this entire episode in American history is the failure of a coherent response from the United States government.

[Nitram]

20. What's pitiful is that Americans have been pumped so full of fake news by the right wing media

over the last 30 years, they don't believe scientists or any other expert. The vast majority of Americans wouldn't have believed the virus was this dangerous until tens of thousands had died. They wouldn't wear masks until their faces were rubbed in the consequences of doing nothing.

[KS Toronado]

21. I'm very disappointed very very few politicians have suggested wearing masks and none that I know of

are saying they should be mandatory. And when you look at the countries with the lowest rates of infection, they have one thing in common........masks are required in public. Our public servants should be smart enough to see this. This problem isn't limited to repugs only, Democrats are guilty too. Just what in the hell are they afraid of by making masks mandatory?

You can see total cases per population here........

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

[47of74]

22. If that orange fuck had did his job in the first fucking place...

...I might have been able to attend my law school commencement in person today. Or maybe not but at least we'd be further along to putting this thing to rest and we'd actually be ready to talk reopening.

I fucking hate this guy.

For all the suffering and death he and his groupies caused along with mangling the response so badly that the class of 2020 couldn't have their rites of passage I. Will. Never. Fucking. Forgive. The. Fucking. GOP. The entire GOP has earned my undying enmity for the rest of my goddamn life. I fucking hate them.

Sorry for swearing so goddamn much.

[ecstatic]

23. +1000. You're not alone! nt