There was a letter published in this paper recently in which the writer claimed that, “the Chinese and the Democrats” were to blame for the current health crisis. This position is pure rubbish based on falsehoods, lies, and misunderstandings of events. Let’s set the record straight.

It has been repeatedly reported in the news that while Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and others prepared for the coronavirus, and took proactive measures to prevent its spread, Trump did nothing. Democrats did not invent Trump’s inertia. Trump dismantled the White House task force for pandemic response, sat on his hands while the death toll escalated in other countries, called the virus a “hoax”, repeatedly claimed it would “miraculously” go away on its own, downplayed the intensity of the virus by comparing it to the seasonal flu, and insisted for months that the situation was under control while his administration failed even to procure basic tests. His delays cost months of response time. Add to this the misinformation and lies he tells during his coronavirus press briefings, you get the very essence of criminal incompetence which could cost untold American lives.

As a consequence of his incompetence, Trump has thrust upon us a humanitarian and economic disaster as bad as the Great Depression. Blaming the “Chinese” is without any factual basis. Instead,the author of the letter offers his “true belief” that the virus escaped a Chinese laboratory but he offers no proof. The theory that the virus was a Chinese creation is a much discredited rumor that made its way around extremest, conspiratorial web sites without the benefit of evidence. It is baseless propaganda. Science Daily, dated 3/17/20, reports the findings of several scientists that the virus is of “natural origin”. So much for the Chinese lab theory.

Finally, it is time for all of us, including the writer of the letter, to stop the baseless accusations. This is no time for divisiveness. Rather, we should be pulling together as neighbors and community members.