NEW DELHI : The global covid-19 crisis is a result of colossal state failures across countries—China, Italy, US, India and elsewhere.
Would the world have to choose between lives and livelihoods if China had released information on the outbreak in time? China first reported pneumonia cases from unknown causes in Wuhan, Hubei province, to the World Health Organization on 31 December 2019.
But it was only in late January that the Chinese authorities scrambled to get a grip on the unfolding crisis—made worse by attempts to suppress the outbreak—and began sealing Wuhan.
By this time, the World Economic Forum was congregating at Davos, where US President Donald Trump dismissed questions on the outbreak.