Trump's State of Emergency Is an Admission of Failure by the U.S. Government

https://time.com/5802795/emergency-coronavirus-pandemic/

President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency is designed to speed federal support to parts of America that are struggling to prepare for a coming surge of COVID-19 cases, unlocking $50 billion in aid, giving hospitals and doctors more freedom to handle a potential tsunami of sick patients and scrambling to make tests available. In a Rose Garden press conference Friday, Trump presented the emergency measures as proof that, “No nation is more prepared or more equipped to face down this crisis.”

But for epidemiologists, medical experts and current and former U.S. public health officials, the need for such extraordinary and hastily organized steps is a tacit admission of failure, not just by Trump’s White House but by the U.S. government over multiple administrations.