When a crisis hits, two questions often swiftly arise. The first is: how do we respond? The second is: whose fault is it? While governments have struggled or succeeded in deciding what to do about the coronavirus pandemic, many in the political and media worlds have been busy pointing their fingers at those they hold liable for spreading, failing to contain or being inadequately prepared for the disease.
There has been a tidal wave of articles angrily bashing China, accusing it of being responsible for it all. Just this weekend, a report by the Henry Jackson Society, a British right-wing think tank, made headlines with its conclusion that the UK could claim up to £351 billion in compensation from Beijing for its supposed flouting of legally binding international healthcare regulations in the early stages of the outbreak.
The well-regarded Foreign Policy magazine refers to what it calls "China's coronavirus misinformation campaign", while conspiracy theory crackpots have latched onto the idea that the virus could be spread by 5G telecommunications masts, presumably because of China's leading position in 5G wireless technology.
The attacks are aimed chiefly at Beijing, but not completely.
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A mural depicts a mask-clad boy in front of the Zouk Thermal Power Plant, north of the Lebanese capital Beirut. AFP -
Graffiti artists from RBS crew work on their mural to encourage people to protect themselves amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Dakar, Senegal. Reuters -
A Palestinian artist paints a mural that reads “By fighting this pandemic, we protect man and safeguard the Earth" as a youth watches him in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP -
Lilly Davenport poses for her dad infront of a mural in tribute to the NHS painted by artist Rachel List in Pontefract. Reuters -
A mural by street artist Lionel Stanhope is seen on a bridge wall in Ladywell, south east London. AP Photo -
A man walks past a coronavirus mural on a building in Bath Street in Glasgow, Scotland. Getty Images -
A woman walks past a closed shop with a mural in a deserted Wynwood Art District in Miami. AFP -
A mural with a message reading "Achoo Covid-10" in seen in a street in Paris. AFP -
A woman photographs a mural of Cardi B that was updated by the artist to include a face mask to reflect the coronavirus pandemic, in San Antonio. AP Photo -
A mural showing medical personnel wearing protective masks is painted on a wall of a building in Warsaw, Poland. Reuters -
A man walks by a mural reading "Cancel Plans Not Humanity" in Los Angeles, California. AFP -
People walk by an apocalyptic mural by Hijackhart, where soldiers wearing face masks fight Covid-19 with disinfectant and hand sanitizers during the coronavirus pandemic in Los Angeles, California. AFP -
A man walks past a mural depicting the COVID-19 coronavirus in Surabaya, Indonesia. AFP -
A cyclist rides past a mural in tribute to the NHS painted by artist Rachel List in Pontefract, Britain. Reuters
In the US, a former federal prosecutor, Glenn Kirschner, believes that as soon as President Donald Trump leaves the White House, he should be charged with involuntary manslaughter or negligent homicide at both the state and federal levels for the coronavirus deaths caused by what Mr Kirschner says are Mr Trump's “gross negligence” and “conduct of lying to the American people and downplaying the risk".
In Britain last week, the veteran journalist and former parliamentary candidate, Tim Walker, asked his 50,000 followers on Twitter if manslaughter charges should be brought “against certain individuals” – which he later made clear meant members of the country’s Conservative administration – for what he believes is their grievous mishandling of the situation.
Emotions are running high, and that is understandable. Almost all of us know friends or family who are at high risk of dying from the virus or of losing their jobs or businesses to what could well be the greatest economic depression (not just recession) of our lifetimes. And yes, we should certainly draw lessons from all that has happened so far and insist on as much transparency as possible. But I do not think that this is the time to assign blame.
Quite apart from the need to reserve all our energies for combating the pandemic and the knock-on effects, there are several reasons not to be levelling grave accusations of guilt.
First, the idea – propagated, alas, by both Mr Trump and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo – that China is somehow responsible for the coronavirus because it emerged in the city of Wuhan is ridiculous. Would we all have blamed West Africa if Ebola had gone global? History suggests not, as no one today castigates the Democratic Republic of Congo for being the source of HIV/Aids.
If Mr Trump wants to play that game, perhaps we should rename the “Spanish Flu” pandemic of 1918 “American Flu” – as evidence has come out that it was probably brought to Europe by US soldiers once they joined the First World War on the Allied side. But no. New viruses have no passports, recognise no borders and emerge from nature, not one nation or another.
Second, most governments have been trying to follow the scientific advice. The trouble is, that has been far from uniform, as the many, necessarily preliminary studies that have produced wildly different results and models show. That is why my relations in Sweden – whose government has been guided by the strategy of its own chief epidemiologist – have still been going to work and their children have been going to school, whereas we in Malaysia have been under virtual lockdown since mid-March.
This should be no surprise. The coronavirus is new. We do not have the luxury of waiting until the scientific community is fully informed. We have to act now when it is near impossible to be certain what the right approach is. Sceptics of long-term shutdowns, such as the former UK Supreme Court judge Jonathan Sumption, who question whether we have wildly over-reacted at an incalculable cost to current and future generations, could also turn out to be right. The choices we are having to deal with are universally unpalatable.
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The Manhattan skyline rises over the Borough of Brooklyn on March 31, 2020 in New York. AFP -
A shopper and cashier wear protective equipment at the checkout station at Pat's Farms grocery store in Merrick, New York. AFP -
Paramedics push a gurney with a patient to Brooklyn Hospital Centre Emergency Room in the Brooklyn borough of New York. AFP -
A New York Police officer stands guard in an almost empty Times Square during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease. Reuters -
A mounted police officer rides though a mostly deserted Times Square during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in the Manhattan. Reuters -
A man wears personal protective equipment as he walks on First Avenue, during the coronavirus disease outbreak in New York City. Reuters -
A New York City Police officer takes a selfie while in the middle of the street in an almost empty Times Square. Reuters -
The US Navy hospital ship carrying 1,000 hospital beds moves past the Statue of Liberty as it arrives in New York. AFP -
A medical worker walks out of a coronavirus testing tent at Brooklyn Hospital Centre in New York City. AFP -
A worker cleans along the Las Vegas Strip devoid of the usual crowds as casinos and other business are shuttered due to the coronavirus outbreak. AP -
Members of the US Army Corps of Engineer Research Development Centre’s Directorate of Public Works construct two temporary hospital room prototypes in Vicksburg. The Vicksburg Post via AP -
Carol Talkington helps Terri Bonasso tape a notice on the emergency room door following a vigil at the closing of the Fairmont Regional Medical Centre in Fairmont. Times-West Virginian via AP -
A motel sign is lit along a quiet Sunset Boulevard at dusk amid the coronavirus pandemic on March 31, 2020 in Los Angeles. AFP -
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a virtual press briefing on March 25, 2020. Bloomberg
In such circumstances, of course, mistakes have been made, and all over the place. Europe and the US appear to have been complacent; having seen Sars and Mers essentially contained geographically and not turn into pandemics, they thought Covid-19 would peter out, too. If that had been the case, any serious restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus would have been condemned as draconian over-reach.
No government, including China, can claim it has acted perfectly, although critics who claim the authorities concealed the problem early on and might not be open about the scale of the deaths or infection should bear in mind that we have little idea how many cases the US, the UK and most other countries have either. But the idea that China has actually acted maliciously is preposterous. The country has suffered thousands of deaths, too.
This is not to say that governments should be given carte blanche for their actions during this period. But I do think it might be time to take a slightly more positive view of human nature and of our leaders. For all the advice they have access to, most of them are probably just as worried and baffled as the rest of us – and are trying to do their best. Nobody wished this on the world. Let us concentrate on saving it for now, and leave the blame game – where it is deserved – until later.
Sholto Byrnes is a commentator and consultant in Kuala Lumpur and a corresponding fellow of the Erasmus Forum
