當一月初新型冠狀病毒爆發可能引發全球大流行時，特朗普政府浪費了將近兩個月的本可用於增加聯邦政府急需的醫療用品和設備儲備的時間。
關於聯邦採購合同的查閱顯示，聯邦機構基本上是等到3月中旬才開始批量訂購N95呼吸口罩、機械呼吸機和前線醫護人員所需的其他設備。
當時，多個州的醫院在沒有足夠設備的情況下收治了數千名感染患者，並請求將國家戰略儲備撥運出來。聯邦物資儲備庫是20多年前創建的，旨在幫助全國緊急情況期間彌補醫療和藥品供應鏈中的不足。
現在，在危機發生三個月後，正當需要重症監護的病人數量激增之時聯邦的儲備卻幾乎耗盡了。一些州和地方官員報告說，他們收到的是破舊的呼吸機和老舊的爛口罩。
近一個月來，特朗普拒絕了庫莫等人要求他根據《國防生產法》授權公司增加呼吸機和個人防護設備生產的呼籲。
特朗普上週終於鬆口表示他將命令公司增加關鍵物資的生產。那時，美國COVID-19確診病例數量已經是世界上最多的。
特朗普在一月和二月淡化了新病毒的威脅。1月30日，當世界衛生組織將疫情宣佈為全球公共衛生緊急事件時，特朗普向美國人民保證，病毒"得到了很好的控制"。
U.S. ‘wasted’ months before preparing for virus pandemic
As the first alarms sounded in early January that an outbreak of a novel coronavirus might ignite a global pandemic, the Trump administration squandered nearly two months that could have been used to bolster the federal stockpile of critically needed medical supplies and equipment.
A review of federal purchasing contracts shows that federal agencies largely waited until mid-March to begin placing bulk orders of N95 respirator masks, mechanical ventilators and other equipment needed by front-line healthcare workers.
By that time, hospitals in several states were treating thousands of infected patients without adequate equipment and were pleading for shipments from the Strategic National Stockpile. That federal cache of supplies was created more than 20 years ago to help bridge gaps in the medical and pharmaceutical supply chains during a national emergency.
Now, three months into the crisis, that stockpile is nearly drained, just as the numbers of patients needing critical care is surging. Some state and local officials report receiving broken ventilators and decade-old rotted masks.
For nearly a month, Trump rebuffed calls from Cuomo and others to use his authority under the Defense Production Act to order companies to increase production of ventilators and personal protective equipment.
Trump finally relented last week, saying he will order companies to ramp up production of critical supplies. By then, the U.S. had the world’s highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Trump spent January and February playing down the threat from the new virus. As the World Health Organization on Jan. 30 declared the outbreak a global public health emergency, Trump assured the American people that the virus was “very well under control.”
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