COVID-19 began in Wuhan, China as early as Dec. 31, 2019 when Chinese health authorities confirmed dozens of people in Wuhan were being treated for a mysterious pneumonia from an unknown source. Many of those sickened had visited a live animal market in Wuhan, but authorities claimed there was no evidence of the virus spreading from person to person.
On Jan. 11, 2020, Chinese media reported the death of a 61-year-old man who had visited the live animal market in Wuhan, the first death from novel coronavirus.
After backlash for saying "Chinese virus" when referring to COVID-19, Trump told Fox News on Tuesday he'd stop using the term and associating the virus with China, although he doesn’t “regret” the reference.
Ling spoke out about the president's language – which a senior World Health Organization official condemned for stigmatizing certain ethnic groups – on "The View" Friday.
"I was pretty astounded when he started calling the coronavirus the 'Chinese virus," Ling said. "It's been months since this crisis began and to me, it just seemed like a way to deflect attention from the fact that he was not taking it seriously for months and months."
"It seemed like he was deflecting blame," she added.
Co-host Meghan McCain also condemned the term's use, and asked Ling her thoughts on concerns of China's government covering up the full extent of the coronavirus outbreak.
"I by no means have any love or affection for the Chinese government," Ling premised. "I have found that their actions immediately after the virus was discovered in Wuhan, their actions have been indefensible."
Ling also recalled Dr. Li Wenliang, a Chinese health professional who tried to warn colleagues about the coronavirus, was reprimanded by local police for "spreading untruthful information online," and ultimately died from the virus.
"That doctor – may he rest in peace – that sounded the alarm, that this is something that we should be concerned about," Ling said. "The fact that he was arrested to me is unconscionable."
"We could sit here and blame China until we're blue in the face," the noted journalist said, "but how is that going to help us right now? The fact of the matter is that we have just passed 1,000 Americans who have died of coronavirus. Our hospitals are hugely overwhelmed."
"There is this invisible and silent killer amongst us — and we need to address it now. So, focusing on blaming China isn't going to do us any good now. In fact, if anything, we should be asking China for help. They have reported no new cases of coronavirus. We should be saying, 'OK, how can you help us now,' because we are now the epicenter of the world."
She added that the United States had "months" to prepare for the virus and it was "somewhat ludicrous" to suggest that China's inaction prevented the U.S. from being more prepared. "We're months into this crisis now and up until very very recently, up until it hit the United States, our president was in denial about it and still calling it a hoax," she said.
Ling's "hoax" reference seemed to be an oft-repeated claim that multiple fact-checkers have rated as false.
Her comments came as the Trump administration repeatedly highlighted the virus' origins, referring to it as the "Chinese virus" — something Ling suggested was the culprit of recent racism against Asians.
Co-host Sunny Hostin asked Ling if her family and friends had experienced racism since the president called COVID-19 the "Chinese virus."
"Oh, absolutely," Ling responded. "I have friends' kids who have been taunted. I have friends who have talked about being harassed in places, and if you just — if you Google stories about Asians being harassed since the president started calling this the Chinese virus, there are countless stories.
"In fact, the national crisis text hotline has had a sizable increase of Asians reporting that they are feeling depressed because they've been bullied and because they feel like they are somehow responsible for this crisis because the president has characterized it as the Chinese virus."
Officials in China have turned their attention to the threat of the virus entering from abroad, with almost all new cases being recorded among people arriving from overseas. China’s National Health Commission on Tuesday reported 78 new coronavirus cases, among which 74 were imported.
Starting Wednesday, Beijing is requiring everyone coming from overseas to be tested for the coronavirus on top of being quarantined for 14 days. In a notice published online, city authorities said those who have entered the city within the last 14 days will also undergo mandatory testing.
President Trump on Saturday defended his administration’s actions in the early days of the coronavirus crisis, saying he was ahead of the curve in calling for a travel ban from China.
“I get a lot of credit for having closed our country very early to a very heavily infected country, China,” Trump said at a White House press briefing. “Unfortunately, China, I wish China would have told us more about what was going on in China long prior to us reading about it.”
Trump said that "China was very secretive. OK, very, very secretive. And that's unfortunate with that. I have great respect for that country. I have great respect for the leader of that country," he said. "He's a friend of mine. But I wish they were able to. I wish they would have told us earlier."
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