The World Health Organization’s stance not to close borders to stop the spread of COVID-19 was based on politics and economics, not science, an investigation by The New York Times has found.
The WHO steadfastly insisted from the start of the pandemic that closing borders not only wouldn’t help, but would stigmatize the Chinese people. Later, New York City figured out that the city’s rapid rise in cases was due to the influx of European travelers. But still, the WHO refused to change its stance: “Do not restrict travel,” The New York Times said the WHO insisted.
“It’s part of the religion of global health: Travel and trade restrictions are bad,” Lawrence O. Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University who helped write the global rules known as the International Health Regulations, told the Times. “I’m one of the congregants.”
Putting it more bluntly, ZeroHedge said that, besides not cutting off the tourism industry, “not being seen to be racist and preventing people’s feelings from being hurt was more important than stopping the spread of the pandemic.”
SOURCES:
ZeroHedge October 2, 2020
The New York Times September 30, 2020