Page 9 - Champa Patel News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

The first reaction of nation states was to protect their own, hoard, close borders – and indulge in nationalist points-scoring. The more the US and its allies blamed China, both for the outbreak in Wuhan and for what many considered to be a cover-up, and the more China refused to provide the necessary access or information, the more distrustful and disjointed the global response became. The final year of Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ presidency was characterised by a Covid policy of denial, denigration of science and, at that point, the world’s highest infection rate. The president launched repeated broadsides against the World Health Organization, denouncing its director general Tedros Ghebreyesus as a “puppet” of China; he announced the termination of the US’s WHO membership and $400m annual payment, putting its finances in peril just at a time when the organisation was most needed. Trump’s approach was borne partly of ideology, partly of a need to create a dist

United statesUnited kingdomWhite houseDistrict of columbiaSouth africaNew brunswickNew zealandDominican republicLuis arceJim oneillLuis abinaderJoe bidenWinnie byanyimaRicardo lagosJeffrey sachsChampa patel