The New York City/New Jersey metro area is the epicenter of the United States' Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. For the last month, all eyes have been on the Big Apple as they have dealt with the pandemic. Thankfully, the curve is starting to flatten and it looks like the NYC area is finally getting a handle on the virus.
Despite that, progressive darling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) believes her residents are afraid of going to the hospital because of "Trump's xenophobic COVID response."
Corona, Queens is the most heavily COVID-impacted zip code in America. I can tell you 1st hand that many ppl are too scared to go to the hospital & continue to work bc of Trump’s xenophobic COVID response.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 11, 2020
In that uncertainty, street vendors are stepping up and saving lives ?? https://t.co/nYkjhwXcPI
She went on to explain why she believed the president's response is "xenophobic."
How is Trump’s response xenophobic?
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 11, 2020
- Targets Asian community in his rhetoric & TV ads, incl ads depicting Asian Americans as Chinese officials
- Late, little, or no translation of public health mandates into multiple languages
- Booting ITIN immigrant taxpayers from CARES relief
- Enacting the public charge rule (punishes immigrants for seeking medical attn, food assistance) despite knowing that COVID was on a trajectory to become a widespread public health crisis
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 11, 2020
- Allowing ICE to continue moving children into NYC & facilities with confirmed COVID cases
Let's get a few things straight:
1) President Trump banned travel to and from China in early January. Various health care officials have concluded that it helped slow the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus. And where were the Democrats? Standing there saying it was racist and xenophobic to do.
2) Trump has sent the majority of ventilators, masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to NYC. If he was racist and xenophobic, he would have sent those to other areas that have whiter populations. But he didn't. He sent them where the need was.
3) The president didn't write the CARES Act. He signed it. If AOC has issues with what's in it or not in it, she needs to take that up with members of her party and people in Congress.
4) If people are truly sick and need medical attention, they will go where there is help. If they can't breathe, they will seek medical treatment. If they were so scared of getting help for the Wuhan coronavirus, we wouldn't see a large influx in treatments and cases in the NYC metro area.
Stop trying to politicize this pandemic, Ocasio-Cortez.