Respect for science and facts the right approach: China Daily editorial

While the infection and death rates have been decelerating in many other countries hard hit by the novel coronavirus, such as the Republic of Korea, Italy and Spain, a turning point has not been reached in the United States.

As of Tuesday, the number of people infected with the virus in the US exceeded 1 million, accounting for one-third of the global total, among which nearly 60,000 people have died, one-fourth of the world's total.

In almost all aspects, the US as the world's largest economy, should have been best able to respond to such a public health emergency. Especially as it was clearly warned of the seriousness of the situation more than two months before the worsening of its domestic situation, and it had been informed of all the key measures that had been successfully tried and tested by other countries to curb the contagion. Yet, tragically, the US has still not organized sufficient substantial defense against the virus.

Now, as the virus is entering the most vulnerable sub-Saharan countries, which may lead to a distressing climax of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and possibly be a prelude to a second, the US is still struggling to flatten its curve.

In the face of these facts, no matter how hard the US administration talks about its achievements in containing the spread of the virus, it must swallow the bitter truth that it has squandered the golden opportunity to bring the domestic situation under control, which has led directly to the scale of suffering in the country.

While most countries that have done a better job than the US are now reflecting on the steps they took, and are trying to mend their fences to win more initiative to revive their economies and ensure they are better prepared for a possible rebound of the virus, the administration has spared no efforts in bragging about its "success" in saving American lives, and blaming the loss of lives on others.

While the majority of the international community is striving for solidarity and coordination, the US government is busy picking fights, stigmatizing others and portraying itself as a victim that has been taken advantage of.

Its pandemic witch hunt is merely old wine in a new bottle. While it has pushed the current administration's approval rating up, it cannot cover up its misjudgment of the situation, its lack of vision, and the flaws that it is trying to compensate for by continuously stooping to new lows to establish its own heights. But the cost has been that it has directly brought down the US' performances in addressing the pandemic to a level of a "Third World" country, as its critics say.

Until the advice of experts is heeded and the federal government stops looking for someone else to blame, the US' efforts to bring the contagion under control will not be put on the right track.